Fallen Star
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: Starfire...beautiful, innocent, powerful, brave. Well, she's no longer innocent anymore as she discovers the pleasures of the darkness that has become part of her soul. Cowritten with Phantom Soldier. StarfireOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own Teen Titans **

**From the authors: This is a joined project between ZK Chromedragozoid and Phantom Soldier. **

An orange, red and purple streak flew past a corner, in pursuit of a strange darkly attired figure, obviously male. As fast as the streak was going, this man was running at speeds that could only have been inhuman. This man was a criminal and he had robbed and killed a convenience store clerk. The streak in pursuit of him was none other than Starfire of the Teen Titans. The golden skinned, emerald eyed, scarlet haired beauty who, despite her innocent exterior, possessed strength that could crush steal.

"I am in pursuit of the criminal, Robin," Starfire reported into her communicator. "However, he is quite fast."

"_Wait for backup, Star!_" Robin replied. "_We're right behind you!_" She shook her head.

"I believe I can catch him, Robin. He is only human." Oh, how wrong she was. The man darted into an abandoned building and she followed him, landing on the dirty floor with her eyes glowing green. "Please, surrender," she pleaded. "If you do that, we can only promise that your punishment will not be too heavy." She did not notice a dark figure coming up behind her. When she heard footsteps, she turned around, her eyes too slow to see the blow that connected with her head, pain wracked her senses as she wanted to scream for help, she couldn't believe the sheer force the blow carried, then, the darkness grasped her senses and blinded her from the light…

Tonight, something would change in Starfire…she will be cursed.

TEEN TITANS: FALLING STAR

**_Night 1: Extinguished Flame. _**

"Starfire! Starfire, wake up!" Robin shouted.

"Ugh…" the Tamaranean princess groaned. "What happened?" she sat up, her friends hovering around her and she had a very nasty bruise on her head.

"You were taken by surprise, Starfire," Robin said with a frown, "I told you to wait for backup." Starfire looked down shamefully.

"I apologize, Robin." Robin shook his head.

"That's alright. As long as you're safe," he helped her up.

"The guy got away though," Beast Boy said, making Starfire whimper. She was upset that she had lost the criminal, evident by the expression of failure etched across her face. Raven elbowed him roughly, glaring at him for his insensitivity.

"We better get you checked out, Starfire," Cyborg said and then he noticed something on Starfire's neck. They were barely visible, but there all the same, "Hey, what are those?" he pointed. Starfire touched her neck, rubbing her fingers around her neck. It was only then when she felt two small twin punctured wounds did she gasp in shock.

"What? What are these!?" she cried out in horror. Raven's eyes narrowed.

"They look like puncture wounds," The witch analyzed.

Starfire looked woozy and Robin had to keep her steady, bringing her back to her feet, however shaky. She told them as her face turned slightly green like Beast Boy's, "I believe I am nauseous. I wish to lie down now, please."

"Okay, Starfire," Robin nodded, helping her walk. As they walked out of the abandoned building, a pair of red eyes had been spying on them and in a blink of an eye they vanished.

* * *

Starfire could not sleep. The alien princess tossed and turned but could not gain any rest whatsoever. Her eyes then popped open as she muttered eerily, "I am hungry…"

She then stepped off her bed and went to her door. She hovered outside her room for a bit before she took a direction. Following on instinct alone where she could find some "food"…

* * *

Robin was in his room, going over the case files diligently when he heard the sound of knocking at his door. Grumbling, he then calmed down and went over to open the door. Starfire stood there, twiddling her thumbs innocently, almost child like, to the Boy Wonder, the girl looked frightened.

"Starfire? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I could not sleep," she admitted, sheepishly, "May I come in?"

"Sure, Starfire." Starfire entered. She looked extremely tired. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Oh, my slumber is plagued by frightful visions," she told him worryingly, pouting as she did.

"They are just nightmares, Star," he assured her. "They can't hurt you."

"Oh, thank you for your concern," she said happily before engulfing him in a hug. And then…she froze. Her nose twitched. Something smelled delicious and it was close by. Her ears picked up on Robin's breathing and heartbeat and her eyes could see the blood flowing through his jugular, like they were streaming red wine just ready to burst out of the body. She licked her lips hungrily and opened her mouth to reveal two very sharp fangs. She leaned her head down to bite him, unknown to the oblivious Boy Wonder, her newly gained fangs elongating to reach his neck…

But then, she suddenly saw the horrible thing she had tried to attempt. She practically jumped back, appalled at what she had just tried to do. Tears of shame welled in eyes and she turned around to bolt out of the room in a flash, palming her face to cover the tears that swam down her cheeks.

"Star? Star, what's wrong?" he approached her but she was too far away for him to reach.

"Please, friend, I believe something is wrong with me!" She then flew out of his room with great haste.

* * *

Starfire was on the roof of the Tower, looking over to the city. She held her head. "What is happening to me?"

"You were sired," she heard someone say and she turned to see a black cloaked and hooded individual. From the height and the sound of the deep, dark voice, she could tell that it was not Raven.

Frightfully, she asked, "What do you mean? Please, identify yourself."

"I am someone who can relate to what is happening to you," he answered, "And I can help you."

"Please, tell me what is going on," she begged. "I nearly wanted to…drink Robin's blood." He stepped forward and she stepped back in fear, only for a birdarang to cut in between them. "Robin!" she cried out as she saw all her friends standing there.

"Get away from her!" Robin said threateningly. The cloaked figure sighed almost in pity.

"You do not understand what is going on," he told them calmly.

"All I understand is that you're not welcomed here," Cyborg said as he aimed his cannon. "Now, get off _our_ Tower!"

"Unfortunately, that is a request I cannot obey," the figure replied coldly, red eyes glowing under his hood like two dull scarlet stars.

"Then we'll force you off," Robin retorted boldly and then yelled, "Titans! Go!"

Starfire just stood back and watched as her friends attack the cloaked figure.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, using her dark energy to bind the intruder, only for him to warp away and appear behind Robin. Robin spun and kicked him only for his leg to be blocked and a palm strike sent the Boy Wonder staggering back. The cloaked figure heard trotting as a green horse came running at him before spinning and kicked him hard in the back. Cyborg waited as he came flying at him and swung his fist as hard as he could and sent him flying and tumbling over the ground, hearing a satisfying THWACK as hard steel met cold flesh.

"Booyah!" Cyborg cheered only to gasp as the figure slowly got up. "Okay…"

"That won't stop me," The figure narrowed his eyes warningly. "And you have no idea what you're doing!"

"No way, dude!" Beast Boy said. "You mess with one Titan, you mess with all of us."

"Listen, if you are concerned about your friend, you must listen to me!" He then noticed that Starfire's eyes held an unearthly glow as she panted, her eyes trained on Robin. She then flew right at him and the figure made a dash and pushed the Boy Wonder out of the way and caught Starfire in his arms. Robin narrowed his eyes and prepared an explosive disc but gasped in shock at what he saw.

"Here, drink!" the figure pulled back his hood to reveal a teenage boy, appearing to be 18, with moon white skin, shoulder length night colored hair and eyes the color of blood. Starfire then leaned her head down and opened her mouth, revealing a pair of sharp fangs before she plunged them into his neck. He held onto her as she drank.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, shocked as all hell. "Star…she's a-she's a," he stammered, but Raven finished for him,

"She's a vampire," Raven said equally surprised, judging by the bewilderment in her violet eyes. Starfire pulled back from her feeding exhaustingly before she dozed off and fell asleep in the figure's arms, looking somewhat more at peace than she was recently.

"You poor fledgling," he said sympathetically. He frowned sadly, and stretched out a finger to caress the girl's cheek. Robin, wanting answers, stepped forward and grabbed the guy's shoulder and spun him around to face him. There was just no way in Hell he would let some stranger touch the girl he loved that way!

"What did you do to her!?" Robin accused. Anger roared from his vocal cords, and the young man was seemingly unimpressed, but he held his ground, and brushed him off.

"I did nothing to her," the man replied calmly, "And you should be thankful. If she had fed on you, you'd be dead, especially since she's just a fledgling right now. They are particularly feral."

"You did this to her!" Robin accused. "Change her back!" the cloaked young man just sighed irritably.

"I didn't sire her," he said. "All I can say is some vampire just did this for the fun of it, siring her and then leaving her. I bet he thought that Starfire would drain all your blood and kill you." He glared at Robin, revealing he had all black eyes with red irises. "So, are you going to move so that I may take her to her room or are you going to stand there glaring at me?" Robin did not move, simply glaring with anger and jealousy, but also hesitant and anxious. "Oh, fine!" He vanished into his shadow, along with Starfire.

"Where is he!?" Robin yelled angrily and Cyborg checked his scanner. He blinked.

"Starfire's back in her room, and I'm willing to bet our newest houseguest is in there with her," Cyborg told him.

"Let's go!" Robin ordered, running back into the Tower, angrily.

* * *

He lay Starfire gently down on her bed, resting her head on her pillow as he stroked her hair. He frowned sadly and said, "So young, so innocent," and added, "What kind of monster would dare sire a creature such as yourself?" He then pulled his gloved hand back as Starfire's door swung open. He did not need to see who it was to know who they were. "Oh, it's you lot."

"What did you do to Starfire?" Robin growled, hands on his belt, ready to strike with his weapons.

"I fed her," the person answered. "Or is that not the answer you were looking for?"

"Get out of her room," Robin threatened.

"Make me," the person responded and Robin charged, only for chains to erupt from the ground and restrain the Boy Wonder.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" Robin shouted out. The stranger looked up to see the other Titans who were ready to fight. He sighed.

"You know; if you drove me out, you'd have to take care of her," he pointed behind him at the sleeping Starfire, "And I doubt you understand how to take care of a fledgling."

"Why do you keep calling Star a 'fledgling'," Beast Boy asked curiously. "She's not a bird."

"No," the stranger replied, "She is something else. She is asleep now, resting as her body changes. May we speak outside?"

"What about Robin?" Raven questioned, her glare still trained on their 'guest'.

"Oh, fine," he then banished the chains and Robin came flying at him, only for a hand to grasp him by the throat. He could feel a sonic cannon trained on his back and then let go of Robin. "You best behave, boy, or else I won't be merciful. I am the only one here who can help you so you should best listen, you little bird." He then turned and walked out the door, leaving a shamed Robin.

* * *

He sat down on a chair in the living room, surrounded by the Titans. He had removed his cloak and neatly folded it and placed it on his lap. He was dressed in a black jacket with black gloves and matching black khaki pants with shoes. He looked at the Titans who looked back at him distrustfully.

"Who are you?" Robin asked, growling under his breath.

The stranger answered, "You may refer to me as 'Shadow'," he replied.

"Well, Shadow, what's happening to Starfire?" Raven asked.

Shadow answered, "She's going into a little change and soon join the darkness as one of its denizens. I came here to help her."

"We can handle it," Robin said confidently. Shadow raised his eyebrow.

"_You_, boy? I doubt it. Vampires who are sired from humans are nearly 5 times as strong. I can tell this girl was strong to begin with and as she changes she will become stronger. Can you stop her when she hungers? What will you do if that happens? To be merciful would be to kill her, can you do that?"

"Kill her?" Beast Boy repeated, terrified.

"More often than not, fledglings are killed because they do not have a proper teacher. I am that teacher."

"What's in it for you?" Cyborg asked, still not trusting this guy. It's not everyday a "vampire" comes into your life…

Shadow was getting increasingly irritated at the questioning. He had a fledgling to care for after all. He sighed and warned wisely, "When a miracle comes by your door, don't chase it away. You're lucky I'm even doing this out of the goodness of my own undead heart."

"How do we know _you_ didn't do this to her?" Raven asked.

"You don't," he answered, "But I'd be damned if I let an innocent creature like her turn into a feral beast." He then paused, appearing to be listening in on something and got up. He said, "She's waking up again. I must go to her. This has to be done privately so I do not wish to be disturbed." With those parting words, he vanished, leaving several confused Titans and one jealous and equally angry Robin.

* * *

Starfire stirred as she awoke from her slumber. She yawned and stretched and looked to the window to realize it was still dark out.

"Had a good sleep, fledgling?" she heard and Starfire whirled around to see the cloaked man again, only without his hood. Starfire blinked. He was admittedly handsome, in a strange kind of way. Starfire could have sworn that perhaps his face was carved to appear as melancholic angel, unable to smile, but only frown with sadness for all eternity.

"What happened?" she asked, as she placed her hands on her head, massaging her temples after the strange, frightening and horrific ordeal.

"Don't you remember?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Call me Shadow, fledgling."

"Why do you call me this 'fledgling'?" she asked, confused.

"It's what you are," he answered and then he added, "Permit me to explain…"

* * *

The other Titans were outside of Starfire's room, waiting. Beast Boy had his ear pressed on the door.

"You hear anything?" Cyborg whispered.

"No," Beast Boy said.

"If he hurts her…" Robin growled.

"Robin, I think he was telling the truth," Raven told him plainly. Robin glared.

"You trust him!?"

"I could feel the honesty in his words. He really wants to help Starfire and I think we should let him. He is a vampire and if Starfire has become one then we have to trust him to guide and take care of her."

Robin grumbled.

* * *

"You are now a creature of the night," Shadow explained, "You tether between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead, but belong to neither. You, like me, are now a vampire." He frowned sadly, "I am sorry this had to happen to you."

"So…I am dead?" she questioned. "But I can still feel my hearts beating."

"My heart beats too," Shadow replied. "Just a bit differently. It's barely noticeable."

"Why has this happen to me?" she shuddered, scared and confused.

"Just some sick vampire's idea of a joke," he said to her. "The honorable ones usually stay with their sires but this one only turned you for the fun of it. I already dealt with him." Starfire gasped in shock.

"You…killed him?" she questioned.

"It's one of the things you must learn to understand, fledgling," Shadow told her seriously, "It's kill or be killed in this world. There is a lot of evil so you must be prepared to deal with it necessarily."

"This is just too much," she said, holding herself and crying. He embraced her and pulled the girl close to him, pressing her against his chest. He gently stroked her hair.

"Just calm down, fledgling," he said, stroking her hair tenderly. She found she enjoyed the attention. She then yawned sleepily. He lay her down on the bed and wrapped his cloak around the both of them as he lay down beside her. "Good night, fledgling." He kissed her forehead.

* * *

**ZK: I got this idea in a dream. I read a lot of TT/Vampire fanfics and it's either Robin or Raven being the main vampire character. I want to take a different approach. Tell me how it is and review. This is only an experimental fic. So, please tell me if you like it. **

**Phantom Soldier: Due to a request from my good friend ZK, I've agreed to help him co-write this story, since I myself have read TT/Vampire fics and I'm currently reading the Vampire Chronicles, rather inspiring for this story, plus I might re-read Cirque Du Freak, but that's not important now. We are trying to be original with the fic by transforming Starfire into a vampire, so, I believe that we can officially say that this fic is no longer experimental. It's on now! So please, read and review, it will keep us motivated enough to work on this developing work of art, savvy? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: No, we don't own Teen Titans,**

**From the authors: We'd like to thank the guys who reviewed our story! Thanks a lot! So, in gratitude, we whipped up the next chapter as fast as possible! Here you go, enjoy and please read and review it!**

_**Night 2: Learning**_

Starfire slowly stirred in her sleep. There was source of warmth close to her body and her half awakened instincts called for her to reach out and grab it. It instructed and thus she could do nothing but follow and pull herself closer to the warmth. She could feel that the warmth was also soft so she snuggled against it. She then realized that there was a large mass beside her and her emerald eyes opened to inspect what it was. It was a little blurry but then her eyes popped wide open in surprise when she realized that the soft and warm thing she had been snuggling up against was a person! The most normal of responses would be to cry out in alarm or/and beat the crud out of the invader before the events of last night came back to her. She then relaxed and for some reason snuggled up against Shadow again. He cracked one red-on-black eye open.

"Did you sleep well, fledgling?" he questioned softly and she nodded. They were still wrapped up in his cloak, it being a blanket for the both of them.

"Yes, my sleep was quite soothing, Shadow," Starfire said, with a small smile and a faint blush. The smile was because he was there, the blush on the other hand was because he was _there_ and _close_!

Shadow told her, "I suggest you do not open your curtains."

"Why?" she questioned, perplexed by his request.

"You are a fledgling now and as such are vulnerable from the light of the sun."

"What will happen?" she asked, not entirely sure if she wished to hear an answer.

"You'll burn and turn into a pile of dust," he answered bluntly, making her turn pale and gulp. She then blushed in embarrassment as her stomachs rumbled. She was famished.

"I better go to get breakfast," she said before sitting up but was pushed back down onto the bed.

"No, I will go," he told her.

"But I-"

"The living area of your Tower has windows that let light of the sun in. I cannot allow you to venture out there. This is about your safety. Granted, your alien physiology should be taken into account, but I cannot risk it. Stay here and I will bring you your food, fledgling."

Starfire smiled sheepishly at the pale young man and said, "Thank you, and please, bring me mustard as well." He then nodded before turning around and walking _through_ the door. She blinked but then remembered that it was one of his many abilities.

* * *

Cyborg was on the stove, cooking a greasy pan of bacon and eggs. There were also pancakes and waffles on the table along with Beast Boy's soy-based breakfast foods (tofu eggs and waffles with soy milk.) Raven was in the middle of meditation as Robin read the newspaper. Beast Boy was whining over the fact that Cyborg was cooking pigs and baby chickens.

As Shadow's form passed through the door without opening it, all attention was on him. Cyborg and Beast Boy stopped arguing and Raven cracked an eye open at the vampire, who now sported a pair of sunglasses and had his hood pulled up. Robin narrowed his masked eyes at their house guest who went over to the dining table. His eyes scanned the items and his nose sniffed the air as though he were a bloodhound. Cyborg was done cooking.

"Um…" Cyborg began. "Good morning?" Shadow nodded at his greeting.

"You too," Shadow replied.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "You're a vampire, so why are you up in the day? Shouldn't you be asleep or something? I mean, I thought sunlight kills vampires!"

Shadow looked at the green elf and replied almost in monotone, like Raven, "Vampires can walk in the day, although sunlight is very irritating to our eyes. We are mainly nocturnal, that is all." Beast Boy nodded in understanding. "As for sunlight, it only hurts fledglings since they haven't built up a resistance towards it yet."

"Where is Starfire?" Robin asked from behind his newspaper. Shadow quirked an eyebrow at the rudeness but ignored it for Starfire's sake.

"She is in her room, in the dark," he replied. "I told her not to come out here since she is a fledgling and I wasn't sure what would happen to her. Her alien physiology makes her a bit different from the vampires I know."

Robin bristled at the word 'vampire'. He still couldn't believe Starfire had turn into one of _them_. Picking up a plate, Shadow filled it up with bacon, eggs, pancakes and waffles. He also poured a glass of milk. He then went over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of mustard. Creating a shadow tray, he laid out the items onto them.

"Where are you going with that?" Raven asked.

"To my fledgling," he replied as he went towards the door and once again walked through them along with the items.

"I don't know if that is either the creepiest or the coolest thing I have ever seen," Beast Boy said in amazement.

* * *

Shadow reentered Starfire's room and he was pleased to see that she had heeded his warning about opening her curtains. He did notice that she was a bit depressed because she could not see the sun but then her smile brightened when she saw him along with the food.

"Breakfast in bed, fledgling," he told her, placing the tray down gently on the bed. Starfire immediately engulfed the food, devouring them like a wild animal. Then again, she was an alien but then she felt embarrassed at being watched.

"I apologize," Starfire told him. "On my planet, we feast as such."

"It is your culture, fledgling," Shadow said to her. "You need not apologize."

"Please, join me," she offered but he declined.

"No, thank you for the offer though, but I cannot eat food like that," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Vampires strictly have a blood only diet," he replied and then Starfire stopped.

"I can only drink blood?" she asked, horrified and nearly losing her appetite.

"Not you, at least not yet. Fledglings can still eat human food but you will soon lose your sense of taste for anything but blood."

"Then I shall enjoy the taste food as long as I can!" she proclaimed as she sucked the mustard out of the bottle through a straw. Shadow blinked. This was just strange even by vampire standards.

Suddenly, the red lights flashed and alarm blared. Shadow narrowed his eyes as Starfire got off her bed. He stopped her. "But, the alarm!" she protested.

"I cannot risk you burning up out there!" he told her, raising his voice. "Stay here. I will help your friends."

Starfire frowned sadly and Shadow sympathized with her. He pulled her into a tender embrace before he vanished through the door, leaving her in the darkness of her room.

* * *

It was the HIVE Five and they were typically just causing trouble as usual. Cars were overturned, windows were broken and buildings were partly destroyed. The police fought back their hardest; using a row of cars as a barricade as the group of young super villains caused immense havoc.

"The Titans should be here by now," Jinx said impatiently, the pink haired sorceress checked her newly acquired digital Timex watch, which she had stolen.

Mammoth chuckled snidely and threw a Ferrari at the police blockade, watching it sail like a red boulder at the scattering police, "Maybe they're chicken!"

"Damn right!" See-More grinned, blasting at virtually anything he could see, "Nobody messes with The HIVE Five!"

Suddenly, a birdarang whirled pass See-More's vision and sliced off Gizmo's mechanical legs, consequently making him fall atop a group of Billy's (Billy Numerous).

"What the heck?!" Gizmo, placing his feet on the redneck's face, glared up at whoever just threw that.

Over the police blockade, there stood the Titans, already in combat stances. Robin smirked at them and said, "Find a name that fits. There's 6 of you."

The HIVE Five glared at them indignantly and Billy hollered, "So? Now there're 100 o' us!" Billy created nearly 100 copies of himself and the team of teen villains crossed their arms arrogantly, "And only 4 o' ya yellow bellies! Ya ain't got a chance!"

"Dude, do you actually speak English?" Beast Boy laughed insultingly.

"We're gonna send you back to jail," Robin said, whipping out his trademark Bo staff in an intimidating manner.

"Oh yeah? Just try it snot munchers!" Gizmo challenged, apparently, while short in stature, he had arrogance the size of Mt. Everest.

Robin looked back at his team and shouted out, "Titans Go-!

Just then, very similar to Raven's portals, a portal of darkness seemingly ripped through the fabric of reality, and a black cloaked and hooded figure rocketed out as quickly as a flash! If only the HIVE knew what they were dealing with.

The Titans knew…It was Shadow.

Mammoth couldn't see his new adversary speeding towards him. so therefore he couldn't see the gloved fist make contact with his nose, affectively crushing it in a single blow. Bone cracked and flesh disfigured; the brute's scattered senses shook around his mind, and because of his now blurry vision, he couldn't see Shadow pulling off punches and kicks that pierced through his tough skin. the bones in his arms cracked and gave way to pain, making Mammoth scream in anguish.

Suddenly, Shadow jumped away for a moment, and shortly after, he sprinted off, running at top notch at the red haired giant. With a back flip kick, Mammoth's jaw had shattered, just like that, and his body had a short flight, and crashed into wall. After the smoke cleared, Mammoth was unconscious, with his mouth and temple bleeding horribly.

The remaining HIVE members looked at their fallen comrade and stared at Shadow in utter horror, and although Billy would never tell anyone for the rest of his life… he would need to get a new clean pair of underwear later.

Jinx shook her head, mentally berating herself to be so stupefied, cried out, "HIVE Five, eat 'im alive!"

See-More had switched his lenses to fire a bubble blast at the hooded vampire, encasing him in a giant bubble, however, like a ghost, Shadow phased through, and in a flash, his fist met See-More's face. In one blow, the villain was knocked out.

Then, a pack of Billies, jumped in an attempt to dog pile him, but Shadow merely somersaulted over them with a dancer's grace and commanded dark chains from the shadows to bind them together. Ignoring their simultaneous cries of pain as their hands banged each other, Shadow grabbed hold of the chains in a vice-like grip, and using his strength, he snapped off the chains from the shadows and whirled them around, causing the Billies to lose their lunch. Suddenly, he let go of the chains and the Billies, now a single person again, crashed right into Gizmo. The boy genius was too dazed too move the redneck off him.

Then, a combined blast of Jinx's bad luck powers and Kyd Wykkyd's rocketed its way towards the vampire, but Shadow merely jumped over it and attempted to land a kick on Raven's HIVE counterpart, but to his surprise, Kyd Wykkyd created a shadow shield to protect himself, letting it take the force of the impact.

Shadow quickly jumped off to dodge Jinx's pink waves of misfortune, and attempted many blows to Kyd Wykkyd, but only for the strange silent boy to deflect every single one of them with nicely timed and formed shields.

Admittedly, Shadow was slightly impressed, "Not bad."

Kyd Wykkyd seemed to smirk at the compliment and went on the attack. Shadow used a roundhouse but Kyd Wykkyd vanished into a portal under his feet. He then appeared behind Shadow and grabbed him by the shoulders so that Jinx could hit him with a hex. Shadow immediately created a portal and slipped out of Kyd's grip like a slippery snake as the hex came hurling at him. It hit Kyd Wykkyd instead and sent the silent villain flying and crashing into the car.

Shadow commented, "You should really watch where you are throwing those things."

Jinx was now shocked out of her mind. 5 of her teammates (plus 100 if you count Billy's clones) had just been taken out by this one new guy and he didn't seem to be exerting himself at all. Just who was this guy?

Shadow stepped forward and Jinx stepped back fearfully from him. For some reason, this man scared her. No, this wasn't a man, but a monster. She raised her hand to send a hex flying but he grabbed her by the wrist, squeezing hard that she yelped in surprise and pain. She was then staring into the darkness of his hood as her pink eyes were staring deeply into blood red ones.

"If I were you, I'd find another way to make a living. I don't hit women, but I can make an exception out of you." He threw her to the ground and said, "Go!" Jinx then made her escape, fearing for her life.

"Hey, stop!" Robin shouted but then Shadow halted him.

"She won't get far anyway. You'll catch her next time. Now, are we done here?" Shadow had said all this without a hint of emotion.

Beast Boy and Cyborg's eyes were wide open at the brutality and precision Shadow had shown whilst fighting the HIVE Five. It was…it was…it was indescribable.

Raven on the other hand had felt Shadow's aura and it had been full of killing intent not too long ago. If he had his way, he could've killed the HIVE Five easily without any mercy. What had stopped him?

Robin, seeing the damage, glared at Shadow. "This is not how we do things."

"No, this is not how _you _do things," Shadow replied. "I, on the other hand, have my own methods. My fledgling is waiting for me. I'll be waiting at the Tower." With those parting words, Shadow vanished into the shadows under his feet.

Suddenly, reporters came and swarmed the Titans, asking questions about what had happened, especially about their 'new member'.

* * *

Shadow returned to Starfire's room to see her sleeping on her bed. He would've smiled if he remembered how but he really didn't have much of a reason to smile since _that_ incident. Walking over to her, he pulled the covers over her body and gave her a tender kiss on the temple. He told the sleeping girl, "Tonight, fledgling, you will learn what it means to be a creature of the night." The door swung open and Shadow stood up straight. He knew who it was without turning around.

"Shadow, we need to talk, outside, **now**," Robin ordered. With his red eyes narrowed, Shadow turned and obeyed, following Robin outside the room and into the hallway.

The door slid close behind them.

Shadow and Robin glared at one another as the spike haired and masked boy looked directly at their guest with a stern expression. "What was _that_?" Robin demanded. Shadow was by no far an idiot and knew exactly as to what Robin was referring to.

"I was doing what I promised Starfire. I was helping you," he said.

"We're a team and remember what you did to Mammoth. You broke nearly every bone in his body! He's probably in the hospital by now."

"So?" Shadow responded, as if not caring.

"So? SO!?" Robin exclaimed, "We catch criminals, we don't beat them up to an inch of their life."

"**You** catch criminals. **I**, on the other hand, take **no** prisoners," Shadow shot back sharply. He turned around but Robin grabbed his shoulder. "Hands off."

"No, we're not done here," Robin said firmly and angrily. Shadow turned around and grabbed Robin by the wrist and yanked his hand off.

"I don't like being touched, little bird," Shadow growled before retreating back into Starfire's room. Robin would storm in there to force Shadow out but then remembered that Starfire needed him.

Robin did not like this guy. He was just so…out of control.

* * *

Hours later, the sun had set and Shadow roused his fledgling awake. "Fledgling, fledgling, wake up."

"Hm?" Starfire mumbled in her sleep, "What?"

"Come on, I'm taking you outside," Shadow told her.

"But the sun-"

"Has already set. Now, get out of bed. We are going to begin our lessons tonight."

Starfire obeyed and walked over to the door but a hand on her shoulder halted her.

"We are not going out through there, fledgling," he told her.

"Then how?" Starfire asked, confused. Shadow then wrapped them both up in his cloak and they vanished into the darkness.

* * *

The two vampires, mentor and fledgling, reappeared on top of a roof of a building. Starfire looked around at her new surroundings.

"Now, wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked her. Starfire shuddered.

"It felt dark…and cold," she said, holding herself. Shadow narrowed his eyes. Now was no longer the time for him to coddle her.

"Well, fledgling, you better get used to it. That is how we will travel when we conduct our lessons, alright?" Starfire nodded. "Good, now, I'm going to tell you about what being a vampire really means, and none of those myths and legends you see in books or movies, but the real thing." Shadow sat down and gestured for Starfire to do the same. He began to tell her about the history of vampires.

"We are not so different from humans, really," Shadow admitted, "We all evolved from the same ancestors and became a separate species entirely. It all involved the consumption of blood and how we lived in the dark. It was by living that way that we adapted and became separate from humanity.

"Vampires have been around for a very long time, just as long as humans have. We have survived so long because our bodies evolved to age at a different rate as humans. Also, to us, blood has a rejuvenating property that allows us to stay young. Yes, we vampires can age but only the ones who are born as vampires. For the ones who are sired, much like yourself, do not age at all." Starfire gasped at that.

"I will…never age?" Shadow nodded.

"The life of a vampire is a lonely one and we cannot have mortal friends. You must know this now that when your friends grow old and die, you will still appear so youthful and alive."

This news made her even more upset, she could feel her heart wrench with painful sorrow.

"As a vampire, your senses become sharper, you become stronger and you also become faster and…" He halted when he heard her sobbing. "Fledgling? What's wrong?"

"I will live forever while my friends die?" Starfire sobbed as tears fell from her eyes. She was not the type of person who could live like that, alone and in eternity. Shadow reached over and held her in his arms.

"Such an innocent little creature; you should not have been sired. You never asked for this. I am sorry, fledgling."

Starfire pulled away, looking at him in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"

"If I had gotten there faster, this would not have happened to you," he spoke gently. Starfire reached over and cupped his cheek.

"This is my fate now, as you said, so I must learn to adapt and accept it." Starfire smiled and then became her cheerful self again. "So, now shall we continue with the lesson?"

Shadow stood up with her and said, "I agree. Let us start with your senses. As I said before, they are sharper now…"

* * *

"Starfire?" Robin called. In his hands was a tray of food. "You missed dinner so I saved some for you." He called again, "Starfire." He then punched in the override code and the door swung open. Robin nearly dropped the tray in shock. Starfire was gone! Where was she?

Only one answer came to mind…Shadow had taken her out.

* * *

At the moment, all of Starfire's sorrowful woes had passed. Every lingering awful thought had been shook off her mind. With a giant smile plastered on her face, she joined with her mentor, running and jumping all around the city. Oh how she could feel the dark power running through her veins!

With each leap, Starfire soared through the air, looking down on the streets below, the citizens looked like small insects compared to her, and the lights it seemed, shined brighter than before!

With each leap, Starfire soared through the air, looking down on the streets below, the citizens looked like small insects compared to her, and the lights it seemed, shined brighter than before! They were like millions of sparkling diamonds.

Shadow landed on another rooftop, someplace over where there were a lot of people and turned to see Starfire had landed after him. "Very good, fledgling," he complimented, even though he didn't smile. "You were able to keep up with me."

"Tamaraneans are capable of traveling at the speed of light," Starfire told him, "Master." She then got surprised. Did she just call him 'Master'? "Did I just call you…'Master'?" she asked. He nodded.

"It's instinctive," Shadow told her, walking closer. "Deep down, you see me as a replacement for the one who sired you. Therefore, as long as I consider you my fledgling, you consider me your Master." She nodded in understanding. "Now, how much can you hear, smell and see?"

"I can hear, smell and see just fine, Master," she replied. Saying 'Master' was coming more naturally now, although, Starfire felt somewhat uncomfortable, it felt so odd.

"That is because I put an aura field around you to dampen your senses to a normal range," he informed her.

"But why, Master?" she asked.

"Because, the reason why a lot of fledglings are feral is because in the beginning their heightened senses drive them a little…mad." Starfire gasped. "Do not worry. I'll be here every step of the way, fledgling. I will be dropping the aura field. Are you ready?" She nodded. "Then, brace yourself." With a wave of his gloved hand, he dropped the aura field around Starfire and then she felt pain like no other as she grasped her head in severe pain, like someone had taken a jackhammer and smashed her head open.

There was just so much noise! It was coming everywhere; left, right, above, below. The smells that invaded her nostrils were also too many, some pleasant, others horrid, intermingling inside her nose, it was horrible! Finally, her eyes, they shifted her vision so she could see things as normal and sometimes she could see heat signatures to the point that she could see warm humans through the very walls, very much like infrared vision. She was screaming out a string of curses in her own native tongue and barely heard her Master's voice calling to her,

"Fledgling!" Shadow cried, but Starfire was still screaming. "FLEDGLING!" Starfire grabbed onto him.

"MASTER! IT HURTS!" she screamed. Shadow placed his hands on her head, forcing her to look at him.

"Focus, fledgling! Focus on me and only me! Focus!" Shadow commanded. "FOCUS!"

Starfire looked up at him, tears in her eyes, but then they became determined as she focused all her will to control her senses. They were _her_ senses, she controlled them, not the other was around! She forced them to obey, to focus on her Master's voice, the sound of her Master's breathing and the smell of her Master…he smelled really nice, like a blend of fragrances from roses. She then calmed down and he let escape a breath of relief.

"You did it," he told her and she cried ecstatically before jumping up and sending both of them tumbling as she engulfed him in a hug.

"I did it! I did it! Thank you, Master!" Starfire cried happily. Shadow just gave her a tender look with his eyes and hugged her back. She deserved it. She had done something that would've taken a fledgling a good few hours to control. She had not mastered it though. She would need to practice focusing her senses so she wouldn't get a huge splitting headache.

"Now, fledgling… we will focus on your next lesson, one of the most important any young vampire must face in order to survive in this world." Shadow gently took her hand, and with a wave of his hand, they were both engulfed in darkness… it was only when the uneasy coldness had left did the alien princess realize that Shadow had used a shadow portal.

They were suddenly… in a bedroom? It was dark and quiet, and Starfire could tell that just by the interior she wasn't in Titans Tower. She suddenly heard steady breathing behind her, and she turned around slowly too see a young woman, maybe in her 20's, sleeping there in bed, her long, curly blonde hair tumbled around her cute face.

In a low whisper, so low only those inhuman could have heard, Shadow said, "Now, for the most important lesson of all… feeding."

The words entered her ears and went into her brain, but Starfire could only shake her head and refused to process this dark information.

"I can't! This is wrong!" she said in a terrified whisper.

"You must, or you will starve, become feral, and either die or go on a killing spree… most likely starting with your friends," Shadow said without a single hint of emotion in his voice, each word cutting into Starfire's heart and innocence like a knife.

She looked back on the unsuspecting woman, and could feel the tears in her eyes How could she do this? It wasn't like her!

"Bite her…" the words, it seemed, were carried by the wind, and it was as if Starfire felt them.

Her lips quivered, as the part of her that was still the loveable, innocent alien princess shouted not to do this, in fear that what would be her remarkable innocence would then be lost forever in this heinous act!

Unfortunately… Starfire knew it had to be done. She was like this, for better or for worse, for the rest of eternity. She bent down, pulling away the young woman's covers, and received a peculiar strange jolt of ecstasy as her hands gently and ghostly touched the skin of the woman's arms (she was only wearing a short, revealing nightie). At first, she felt repulsed… but it felt so good, and miraculously, the woman was still asleep!

She continued to bend down, her body touching the woman's in a bizarre intimacy, as she crept up towards her neck. Shortly, she laid her left hand around the woman's neck and held it up slightly as she opened her mouth, revealing her elongated, sharp and glimmering fangs.

The fangs were only inches away from the neck, and as she grew closer, closing the gap between the victim and herself, she could feel her bloodlust raging with joy, giving her an excitement she could never have dreamed of! It was darkly wondrous! Conscience slipped away as her animalistic dark side took over as she breathed in the woman's lovely scent!

Shadow watched with interest, also making sure his fledgling wouldn't give in completely to her bloodlust, and at the same time, he was very worried. After all, it wasn't every night you find a new vampire species now do you? This could very well fall into a series of unforeseeable events that could pretty much lead to disaster.

… Like now.

"STOP!"

Way to go, Boy Wonder…

**Pretty intense, huh? Well, anyway, expect more in the next chapter! And please, read and review! More reviews mean that it'll keep us motivated enough to work more on this story.**

**And please, read the other fics written by ZK Chromedragozoid (go to Nintama Rataru and look up the favorite stories since ZK's profile is down) and Phantom Soldier's fics.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the trademark property of DC Comics.**

**Note from the authors: Well, we just want to say thank you to all who have reviewed and read this story so far! You're keeping us motivated!**

_**Night 3: Guilt**_

There, Robin stood at the window with a look of utter horror as he witnessed Starfire bending over to take the blood of an innocent woman. His face then turned into an enraged snarl as he turned his sights upon the 'monster' responsible for corrupting the alien princess that he loved so dear.

The woman, who was to be Starfire's intended prey, woke up with a start and was about to scream in horror when she stared into the red eyes of Shadow. He whispered in an almost ethereal voice, "Sleep," and as soon as those words escaped his lips, she was out like a light.

Starfire cowered in fear when she heard Robin's outraged cry. She was too afraid to look at him and hid behind Shadow in shame and fear. What would the Boy Wonder whom she loved dearly think of her now? Would he think of her as a parasite?

"Fledgling, let's go," Shadow said to Starfire as he took her hand. He then addressed Robin, "If you have something to say to me, meet me on the roof of your Tower," and with that he vanished into a swirling portal of darkness with Starfire.

Robin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He reached into his utility belt and pulled put his grapple gun before shooting a grappling hook and swinging away like his mentor usually did. Now there was a score to settle…

* * *

Reappearing in her room, Shadow gave Starfire a simple command, "Stay here," and a look that told her not to argue with him. Starfire could only reluctantly nod and then she sat down on her bed. Shortly after, she began to cry, palming her face as tears of shame escaped her eyes and trailed down her face. Shadow looked away, not bearing the idea to look at the girl's crying face, and then vanished through a shadow portal. It would be the most painful wait she would have to endure as her Master and her best friend would most likely argue over her, which would then result in a fight. She had nothing to fear for her Master but Robin would have to be careful not to antagonize or provoke the vampire.

* * *

Shadow reappeared on the roof to see Robin glaring at him. "Punctual, I see," Shadow commented. Robin got out his Bo-staff, and twirled it around with martial prowess. He then brought the staff into a classic fighter's pose, beckoning a challenge from the vampire. 

"I see you would prefer action rather than words." If Shadow had any emotion in his voice, he would've sounded amused.

"You're corrupting her," Robin accused. "And I won't let you."

"Corrupting her?" Shadow repeated. "And how did I, as you say, "corrupt" her?"

"You were going to force her to take the blood of an innocent woman," Robin answered, his grip on his staff tightening.

"I was teaching her how to hunt for prey and feed," Shadow said. "It's something she needs to know. She needs blood, if you remember."

"But why not blood banks or blood packs?" Robin asked. "Those are better!" Shadow shook his head to disagree.

"It's not the quantity of the blood that matters, but the quality. Boy, let me tell you something about what blood really means to a vampire. The blood carries a person life force and that is what a vampire needs to survive. Blood from blood packs merely quenches our thirst and satisfies out hunger, but they lack that life force we need to survive. We drink the blood from the living to survive, to live," Shadow explained calmly. "I would've explained that to her if you hadn't interrupted us."

Robin wouldn't let up. He was still stubborn as ever. "You almost made her kill someone."

"Kill? You **are** ignorant. Not all of us kill when we feed unless it's a wild animal," Shadow said to Robin. He eyed Robin's stance and if he could laugh he would. "Were you expecting to fight me?"

"I have to protect her from you," Robin said. Shadow rolled his eyes. This human was just too short sighted and wasn't really worth his time. Then again, it would be very amusing if he could beat the sense into the insolent spiky haired brat who dressed in the colors of a traffic light. Shadow made a mental note to taunt the irritating, stuck-up Boy Wonder to go shopping later, which brought an amused smirk that threatened to break onto his face.

"And I pledge myself to protect her, my fledgling, as well," Shadow said before throwing off his cloak, almost melodramatically, and getting into his own battle stance. "And if you must fight me, I must warn you that I have _far_ more experience than you."

With a loud cry, Robin charged and went on the attack. He swung his Bo-staff and it hit Shadow in the arm, giving Robin the satisfaction of metal connecting with flesh. The impact would've fractured bones of a human, but those of a vampire's were a _completely_ different story! Shadow then spun around and batted Robin in the back of the head with his forearm with speed the Boy Wonder couldn't keep up with. Robin recovered and jabbed at Shadow repeatedly but the youthful looking vampire dodged each hit precisely, not allowing to get hit at all, it was as though it worked on sheer will alone. Shadow then saw an opening, and with amazing speed that only Flash or Kid Flash could have seen, threw his palm hard into Robin's chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him flying and tumbling across the floor. Robin coughed and fought to bring the air back into his burning lungs. He refused to be beaten now! His warrior spirit wouldn't allow it! Struggling with all his might, he had managed to get back on his feet, albeit rather shakily.

"I'm not going to give up," Robin said as he got ready again. Shadow sighed, crossed his arms and quirked an irritated eyebrow.

"My boy, I should compliment you for lasting this long, but I must warn you that if I had used **all** my strength in that one hit, you would've been dead before you even hit the floor," Shadow said logically. Robin's eyes widened at this but then narrowed again. Shadow just had to be bluffing, but this was a vampire and vampires were inhumanly strong.

Batman's former sidekick had whipped up 3 explosive birdarangs in each hand, and he crossed his arms, ready to throw them at any minute, whilst Shadow took a casual stance and stared at Robin boringly.

And _right_ before Robin would have thrown them, a familiar voice cried out, "Robin, STOP! PLEASE!"

Next thing he knew, Starfire was hugging him from behind and buried her tear stained face in his cape.

The alien princess pleaded tearfully, "Robin, please, stop this! It is not his fault! He is not a monster!"

Robin relaxed his arms, his concentration on the fight at hand disoriented as he subconsciously placed his birdarangs back in the utility belt. Shadow watched the scene from a monotonous point of view… yet feeling a stab of sympathy in his heart at this tearful moment.

"It was mine…" Starfire continued to sob sorrowfully, and when Robin finally turned around to face her, to suddenly be in her cold embrace, he somehow felt the guilt and sadness escaping her soul, and it was at this point that Robin felt disgusted with himself, at what he earlier accused Starfire to be. How could he do that? She was the one he truly loved!

The truth finally hit him like a jackhammer to the skull; _he_ was the monster here, not Shadow or Starfire, but him. The one who held prejudice against a species whose rules and ways he knew nothing about and could only think stereotypically of.

Almost silently, these words full of shame and regret escaped his lips, "No, Starfire… it's not your fault… I'm the monster… Oh God…" He could no longer bear to see Starfire's crying face. It only continued to break his heart and snap at his conscience even more. So, abruptly he turned away from them, and walked quickly back inside. He didn't bother to close the door behind him.

And now, for once since he met the boy, Shadow actually pitied him…

'_Perhaps he isn't an arrogant stuck up prick after all,' _Shadow thought before walking over to his fledgling and picking up his cloak along the way. Starfire, emotionally distraught, cried against her Master's chest as he draped his cloak over her shoulders. He lifted up her face by the chin and said to her, "Let's go back inside." He wiped her tears away with his thumb and then they vanished in a swirl of darkness…

* * *

The next morning, the commotion from the previous night had settled. It was soon replaced with an awkward silence that filled the Tower… at least when it came to the Boy Wonder, the Alien Princess, and their new houseguest. Everyone, except the aforementioned, was in the Titans Common Room, eating their breakfast, and Beast Boy and Cyborg had their usual argument of "Meat VS Vegetables and Tofu." 

Raven just rolled her eyes as she messaged her temples and went to have a peaceful cup of tea before she went to perform her daily meditation ritual. Cyborg and Beast Boy argued about _this_ every single day ever since they found out about each other's food preferences. She decided to change the subject, and if that didn't work she'd rip their tongues right out of their very mouths.

"Hey, you two," Raven called the arguing duo but they didn't hear her. "Hey. Hey!" She lost her patience. "HEY!!!" she shouted loudly and this time Beast Boy and Cyborg quieted down, afraid to incur the wrath of the half demon. She gave herself a congratulatory smirk before it changed into her usual dull expression and asked, "Have any of you noticed that Robin isn't here? We know why Starfire isn't and her…mentor, well we can guess."

"Oh yeah," Cyborg said in realization, "Where is Robin and the vamp?"

As soon as he said that, Robin stepped through the doors that led into the common room, followed by Shadow. They gave each other wary glances before walking over to the breakfast table. Robin picked up the newspaper while Shadow picked up a plate and filled it up with food.

"She needs to eat," Shadow said to Cyborg who nodded and after Shadow filled the plate up with breakfast food, avoiding Beast Boy's tofu like it was the plague, he went and picked up another bottle of mustard before he vanished through the doors. Beast Boy and Cyborg blinked while Raven raised an eyebrow. Robin had not looked angry, just a little guilty if you'd observed carefully.

"Ooookay?" Beast Boy said. "What was that about?"

"Hey, Rob, why didn't you start getting mad at him?" Cyborg asked his friend.

"Last night, he and I had a conversation about Starfire and it opened my eyes," Robin answered. "He's not so bad, really, once you got to know him."

Raven stared at him and said, "I thought you didn't trust him."

"I didn't, but then he's the only person who can understand what Starfire's going through and help her through it every step of the way," Robin admitted. "And, well, he did help beat the HIVE Five."

"Dude, he beat the crud out of them in like 5 minutes," Beast Boy informed him. "He's wicked cool and creepy at the same time!"

Robin read the newspaper and the front page had a picture of Shadow. It was blurry since he'd gotten out of there before the reporters could get a clear shot. The headline was: MYSTERIOUS NEW TEEN TITAN? WHERE IS STARFIRE?

Now, that was going to be something tough to explain to the public. How to answer both questions without freaking everyone out? They couldn't really say that Starfire was now a vampire and the 'Mysterious New Teen Titan' was a vampire too. It would've caused a major uproar, religious especially since vampires were always treated with scorn by those who believed in their existence…like Robin did before last night.

"Oh boy…"

* * *

In Starfire's room, Shadow had just learnt of the terrible ordeal many of the Titans have had to go through on a regular daily basis whenever Starfire wanted to either, get something, do something, or go somewhere. In other words: Starfire's nagging. 

With big watery eyes and her hands cupped together in a childish manner, she asked for the umpteenth time as she was all up in Shadow's face, "PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASE, Master? Please?"

Shadow's frustration went up another notch. He silently wondered to himself of how much more could he take of this?

"Fledgling, for the last time, you are NOT going outside!"

"But, Master, I want to see the sun again-"

"And burn to death? I think not." Shadow crossed his arms and scowled at Starfire in a fatherly manner.

"But," Starfire pouted as cutely as she could, "We Tameraneans thrive on solar energy-"

"You are a Creature of the Night, **now**! The sun is your worst enemy. That's the way it is! I cannot risk you leaving the darkness of this Tower just so you can waltz outside and turn to ash right on the spot," Shadow argued and shook his head down. Mentally he groaned and asked himself, '_What have I brought myself into?_'

But just then, when he looked up, he saw the most powerful weapon any female possessed across Starfire's face, and he paled with dread, for it was the ultimate weapon any woman had to use on men:

_The Puppy Dog Pout_

Just looking at Starfire with that increasingly adorable face melted Shadow's arguments and defenses into a mere puddle. He massaged his temples and inwardly moaned in defeat.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Fine… you can go." Starfire cheered in delight and hugged her mentor in one of her infamous bone crushing hugs. The vampire had to suck in as much air as he could and held it in. With her incredibly enhanced strength, she could perhaps easily snap his body in half.

"Fledgling… Could you please let go of me?" Shadow asked through clenched teeth. He was fighting the urge to release all the air in his lungs. He couldn't possibly believe how powerful her hugs were!

Starfire stopped, and smiled sheepishly, and let her poor mentor go. Catching his breath, he rolled his eyes and then said to the Alien Princess, "But first, you should wear something to cover your body, just incase."

Starfire beamed happily, "Oh! I have just the thing!" As quick as a flash, she opened her closet and searched through some random assortments of attires, which were suddenly piling up on her bed continuously until it became a mini pile of fashion. Shadow then noticed that most of her clothes… were just the same uniform she always wore.

"I have found it!" Shadow cocked an eyebrow and faced Starfire… only for freeze incredulously. If not for the glowing green eyes, he never would have recognized her!

She wore a yellow raincoat, a ridiculous green wide brimmed hat, purple winter gloves, yellow rain boots, and a purple scarf.

Starfire had then rubbed the back of her head bashfully and explained to her bewildered Master, "These clothes were what I wore when I went through a horrible transformation, so I had thought that perhaps they would be appropriate for this transformation as well."

Shadow gawked at her with an expression of surprise and bewilderment. Recomposing himself, he told her, "Remove those..._things_. I think I have something else in mind." She did as told and Shadow said, "Hold still." Concentrating silently, the vampire focused as the shadows began to creep up her body, and she felt a cold tingling sensation crawling up her skin that made her shiver uncomfortably. Starfire yelped in surprise as the shadows began to mold onto her body, forming clothing.

Unsurprisingly, her attire was all black, consisting of a long sleeved hoodie, black jeans and sunglasses with gloves and sneakers.

"This looks like something Raven would rather wear…" Starfire said timidly, hoping that instead it would be something colorful rather than just black.

Shadow said, "Well, it was made from the shadows so it would always be black, unfortunately. We could try something else, if you like."

Starfire shook her head and smiled shyly, "No, it is alright." At least she could go out in the sun. He reached over and pulled the hoodie over her head to hide her features. He couldn't allow any light to touch her. "But, Master, what about you?"

"What about _me_?" he asked her.

"Your clothing…wouldn't they draw a lot of unwanted attention?"

"I don't care if I get stared at, fledgling," he told her firmly but then his resolve broke as she used her 'secret weapon' on him again. He sighed, "Oh, fine," and he used the shadows to change his clothing again. He now wore a black buttoned down shirt with a red tie, black slack, black dress shoes, a black trench coat and a wide-brimmed black hat with black glasses on his eyes. Starfire blinked. This wasn't exactly what she had in mine when she wanted him to change clothing but at least it looked…normal.

"Come, fledgling," he beckoned. "Let us both venture outside."

* * *

Starfire walked beside her Master as they went out on the city. She remembered how her friends' had reacted to her attire. They barely recognized her. She barely recognized herself even. 

Shadow was getting some pretty strange stares too, but again he didn't really care. Why should he? He had lived so long and never listened to the opinions of others.

Starfire looked up at the sky slightly, angling her head so that the light would not directly hit her face. '_At least I am outside, but it does not feel the same dressed like this…_'

Shadow frowned. He could feel her depression. It was radiating off her. He wanted to apologize but he knew this was a lesson she'd have to learn on her own. He could walk out in the sun because he was so old, but she was new to the world of vampires. Maybe in a few years, after his training, she'd build up a resistance so that she could wear her old clothes.

A sudden explosion caused Starfire to shriek in fright. Being so close to the source as well as being a vampire had enhanced the volume for her. Shadow narrowed his eyes as they wandered over to the bank when a very large red figure was standing not too far from it with bags of money.

"Hah! Adonis is gonna rob you all blind!" the man in the red robot suit boasted, laughing away.

"It is Adonis!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Adonis?" Shadow repeated. He then saw that her eyes were glowing green. She was eager for battle and then she darted at Adonis, flying at the red robo-suited man before Shadow could yell at her to stop. "Fledgling, wait!" he called for her before he sighed and quickly followed after the alien girl.

Adonis felt a powerful explosion on his left flank as a green energy bolt hit him. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to see someone dressed completely in black with a green glow behind their shades. The black clad and flying person ordered, "Put down the bags and you will not be harmed." Adonis recognized the voice.

"Woah, did you have a fashion disaster or something?" Adonis quipped, which made Starfire narrow her eyes. He then said, "Fine, I'll drop the bags." He did so, "And of course _I_ won't be getting hurt…YOU ARE!" His hands shot at her and grabbed her by the arms. She screamed in surprise and struggled as Adonis started to crush her.

"LET ME GO!" she demanded, legs kicking.

"Um…No," Adonis replied, grinning.

"Do as she says," spoke a cold voice and Adonis turned his head to see Shadow, glaring at him. Starfire smiled widely with glee.

'_Master!_' she cheered mentally.

"Does everybody have bad fashion sense these days?" Adonis said. He then said to Shadow, "You think you can take me on?" Shadow shook his head.

"No, I don't _think_ I can," he paused, "I _know_ I can." Shadow then moved as quick as a flash and Adonis soon found himself face up on the ground and Starfire free, floating next to Shadow.

"Are you alright, fledgling?" he asked. She nodded but then his eyes widened a bit. Starfire noticed this too.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Fledgling…your hood…" Shadow said slowly. Her hood was no longer covering her head, exposing her face to the light of the sun, but _nothing_ happened. She had not suddenly begun to spontaneously combust or turn to dust. She was a fledgling, yet resistant to the light of the sun. Adonis had gotten up and charged at the two. Chains suddenly erupted from the ground like shadowy liquid and held the giant down.

"LET ME GO!" Adonis roared but then Starfire floated over Adonis, smiling sweetly, before pulling back her fist and swinging it. Adonis then saw black.

The Titans arrived at that very moment and Shadow said to them, "What took you so long?"

* * *

Later, in the infirmary, Starfire was back in her usual uniform while Cyborg did a scan. The other Titans, plus Shadow, were there too, watching intently. 

"Well, since Starfire's race absorbs sunlight and converts it to energy," Cyborg reported analytically, "I guess even after she became a vampire, the trait stayed with her."

"So, what would mean she can venture out under the light of the sun," Shadow surmised, nodding in understanding.

Cyborg grinned, "You got it."

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Starfire said happily, dancing in the air.

"Congratulations, Starfire," Robin smiled. Starfire didn't have to stay in the dark after all. It made him take a deep relieved breath since he didn't have to be concerned about her well being after all. To him, as long as Starfire was happy, then he would be happy for her, grateful for her, and he would support her every step of the way!

"Dude, you're a vampire that can go out in the day and night!" Beast Boy shouted but then looked at Shadow, who stared at him blankly, so he took a short awkward pause to rephrase what he said, "Well, he can too but you're a fledgling!"

"And he did say fledglings couldn't go out in the day," Raven added, a small smile grazing her pale features. "I guess you're one of a kind then."

Shadow's expression turned serious. Starfire would be considered the only fledgling able to walk out in the day. This was also terrible on a really high scale.

The Council would one day hear of this and he'd get an earful. They would want to know about any addition to their species. They were pretty strict on that account. And Shadow suddenly paled, well more so than usual, and a dreadful thought came to mind, _'If other vampires and fledglings heard about this... Starfire will be their target!'_

Starfire then landed and walked over to Shadow, nearly back to her old self again, the part of her the Titans knew full and well, her cheerful smiles, the way her eyes glistened with happiness like they were sparkling emeralds. Shadow's eyes bored into hers as she embraced him, gently this time, to Shadow's obvious relief. "Thank you," she said to him from the deepest depths of her heart, "Thank you for letting me go outside, Master."

"No problem, fledgling," he said to her, stroking her scarlet hair with the gentlest touch he could muster.

"Master?" she began, frowning.

"Yes?" he responded and saw that her fangs were out, sharp and shiny as ever.

"I am hungry."

Shadow nodded and they both vanished into a shadow portal to return to her room for some privacy.

* * *

In Starfire's room, as Shadow slid up his sleeve and revealed his pale flesh to the hungry alien princess, he felt a heavy stone of dark guilt drop into his soul. He could feel the immense weight holding him down. 

Should he tell her of what her existence would mean to the Council and about the vampires who would be coming after her? Should he tell her that she was practically a miracle among the creatures of the night? If not now, then when?

Shadow felt the impending doom wash over him and much to his relief the innocent (yet hungry) alien princess as she plunged her fangs into his arm, drinking in his blood like it was the sweetest nectar or the finest wine.

Shadow stared at his scarlet haired fledgling and sighed almost sorrowfully. Perhaps this could wait another day… and if there _were _any vampires who would come to the Tower just so they could feast on his sweet and innocent fledgling… he'd make sure to give them **Hell.**

**Phantom Soldier: Well Ladies and Gentlemen: I hope you have enjoyed this wonderful chapter. You will see that there is much to see and explain in this story. Expect more romance and action and God knows what else!**

**ZK Chromedragozoid: Well, like Phantom said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as we did writing it. Without him, I bet we wouldn't been able to get this far, even if it is only the 3****rd**** chapter. There will be more, much more. What started as a dream and an experimental fic may turn into an epic.**


	4. Chapter 4

****

Disclaimer:

**We don't own Teen Titans, if we did, we'd be rich, and we'd totally screw it up.**

**From the Authors:**

_**Night 4: Blind Faith**_

As the light of dawn shined its wonderful golden rays of the morning over the sleepy city, the thundering roar of motorcycle disturbed the once-easy peace and zoomed through the streets like a flash of black lightning. The rider, clad in black as though he were just a shadow, raced along with no intention of stopping.

The rider's long black coat flew through the air like an angel's wings gracefully, and against the light of the dawning sun, the rider raced against it, as though trying to beat it to the finish. The roar of the Harley Davidson suddenly dulled considerably as the rider stopped by a church. A small pleasant looking grey church, but it looked incredibly worn out, and it made the rider think that it would crumple into tiny pieces at any moment.

Parking the bike, the rider got off and scanned the area, looking as though he was suspecting an attack. His fists clenched tightly, ready to lash out at any enemy, but when the rider made sure the coast was clear, he unclenched them and took off his helmet.

What was under the helmet was the face that belonged to a hardened veteran. In a poor light; he would have appeared at least in his forties. But, in actuality, he was only in his 20's. His eyes were a cold vengeful grey and his features were extremely pale. He looked like he was spat out of High School and went right through a horrible war. A jagged scar ran down his right cheek to his jaw and three terrible identical scars on his other cheek. A bandana covered his bald head, concealing his forehead from view, as though he had something to hide from the world.

The rider was dressed in what resembled to be a black priest's cassock with the white clerical collar around his neck. He seemed somewhat fit but lanky with broad shoulders. Suddenly, he reached down into his pocket, and pulled up a folded newspaper article, he scowled vengefully and hissed, "Vampire… You're mine."

He straightened his collar and walked off into the morning lit streets, making no sounds like as though he were a phantom…

* * *

"HIYAH!" Starfire yelled as she swung her fist blindly at her target with the hope of actually making physical (and obviously, painful) contact, but she could only feel the air rushing around her fist as it hit absolutely nothing.

"Too slow," her opponent taunted in a grave and monotonous voice. His voice held no emotion, but it was clearly meant as a taunt. If her opponent even displayed any emotion, he'd be smirking right now. He was just that good at hiding it.

Growling, the young Tamaranian swung her leg with enough force to bench press a massive elephant, however, like before, her opponent evaded the attack and she struck nothing but air.

Of course, she would have decimated her opponent by now if she wasn't blindfolded.

Upon the surface of the island, behind the tall T-shaped structure, Starfire and her Master Shadow were out training. Usually, and normally, fledglings would be trained at night since they were unable to walk under the light of the sun due to the fact that they would burn under the sun's rays and disintegrate into a pile of dust. However, Starfire was a special type of fledgling; she came from a race of aliens that absorbed sunlight like how a sponge absorbs water, therefore there wasn't any need to worry about Starfire burning to death. Shadow on the other hand, still disliked sunlight immensely, being exclusively nocturnal in nature, but Starfire was a morning person so he just had to compromise. They had both woken up early to start the alien princess's rigorous training.

Second by second, Starfire grew increasingly enraged, and then she swung her fist at where Shadow's face was but then he just ducked underneath the incoming blow before slipping away. Starfire cried angrily and ripped off her blindfold, her eyes glowing green and hotly glaring at her Master.

"Master!" she cried angrily, "Please, what is the point of this? How can I hit you when my eyes are concealed?"

"Fledgling," Shadow spoke seriously, "We vampires are able to see in the dark, true, however there will be times when our sharp sense of sight can be blinded so we must also learn to rely on our other senses in combat. You must use your ears, nose and tongue. Listen for your opponent, smell your opponent and…" Shadow paused. "Alright, I'm not so sure _how_ the tongue can be used in combat but I think it has something to do with tasting the air to sense out your opponent. My Mistress taught me that." He went back into a battle stance. "Now, let's try this again. Put on your blindfold, fledgling." Starfire pouted like an angry, scolded child but then she put on her blindfold and did as instructed, albeit reluctantly and with absolute frustration.

Shadow was not using his powers and neither was she. All they would be using were their bodies and their vampire strength. Starfire's normal strength was that of an average vampire but now that she'd been turned, her strength had been enhanced beyond the usual parameters of her own race. In short, her fists now packed 5 times the usual whallop so she had to be careful on how much strength she used, or else the next poor bastard who'd meet her fist would have his head smashed into bloody pieces.

Starfire heard Shadow step around her almost silently, and then spun around to swing her fist in his face, where she thought it would be. But alas, he caught it with relevant ease. "Good," he praised. She felt like smiling, "But not good enough." He let go of her and sent a palm strike into her chest, sending her staggering back. "Don't stop attacking until the opponent stops moving."

Starfire lifted up the blindfold, exposing her timid wide eyed expression, "You mean…kill?"

"Fledgling," he began, "There are…people out there who hate us, vampires, for being what we are. They will not hesitate to hunt us down and kill us so it's either kill or be killed." He added, "Remember that."

Starfire nodded, "I will, Master." Ever since she had come to Earth, she had to reduce on the amount of power she would put since joining the Titans because the Titans couldn't kill. As a Tamaranian, she was trained to kill but had not practiced them since coming to this planet. Now, she would have to put her killing techniques to the test. She would have to fight like she wanted to kill Shadow…even though she didn't want to. The innocence inside her sweet soul screamed that it didn't want her to kill, but to remember love and peace, what she stood for

"Master, why do they hunt our kind?" she asked timidly. Over the past few days, she had accepted herself as a vampire. It was not something she could ignore. She was still Tamaranian but she was also a vampire, she knew her life would get odder and odder as the years would pass by.

"They do it because it all starts with fear," he explained with the slightest hint of warning in tone.

"Fear?" Starfire questioned.

"All creatures fear something they do not comprehend and fear often leads to something worst." He further explained gravely, "Fear will lead to anger, which leads to hate, which then leads to suffering. That is the cycle of human nature."

Starfire gasped, "That's horrible!" She wasn't naïve at all. She knew how cruel the world could be. A lot of other races thought of her people to be…inferior…

"Well, that's just life," Shadow said almost cynically, "Now, we continue."

Starfire got ready again and then struck at her Master hard. She moved with him, following the sound of his footsteps, following his scent…following him with smell and hearing…she could hear his every move and focus on them to knew where he was and where to strike.

'_She's improving_,' Shadow thought proudly as he dodged her punches and kicks. He was nearly hit with an uppercut and barely dodged a haymaker. '_And she's becoming faster too. I barely saw that coming._' He then said, "Enough." Starfire stopped her onslaught.

"Master?" Starfire questioned as she removed the blindfold.

"Your friends are waking up and I do believe you wish to join them for breakfast," he turned towards the Tower, "Let us go, fledgling."

"Alright, Master," Starfire walked obediently over to him and he wrapped his arms around her. Starfire couldn't help but flush at the physical contact. Then, they both vanished into a shadow portal, slipping into the darkness of the abyss.

* * *

Breakfast with the Titans was still an awkward affair for Shadow. He sat at that table that was laden with food and watched as all the Titans, his fledgling included, indulged themselves. Beast Boy was eating his (tasteless) tofu, Cyborg was eating bacon, eggs and waffles, Raven just had herbal tea with two slices of toast, Robin was eating pancakes and Starfire was eating a bit of everything. He envied how she could still taste normal food. He had lost his ability to taste normal human food for a _very_ long time now. He didn't want to be here, sitting at the table with the 5 Titans as he was a loner by nature, but his fledgling had once again used her 'Puppy-Dog-Eyes' to coax him into joining and once again he had fallen prey to it. He wondered if that was Starfire's unique talent, or perhaps, the unique talent of every woman on Earth.

He had been living in the Tower for a little over a week now, teaching Starfire about being a vampire and training her. The other Titans were still a little wary of him but had accepted him, albeit gradually. They had even started to treat him like a member of the 'family'.

Family…Shadow often wondered about his. His mind wondered to past images of the family he once had, God knows how many centuries ago. Were there any traces of his family left in the world? He often asked himself that.

Beast Boy had attempted to persuade the vampire into playing videogames in which the centuries old vampire had politely declined. He saw no point in playing with such toys. Cyborg had also requested his help in fixing the T-Car but Shadow had never really learnt how to drive or work on one since he didn't quite need a vehicle with his powers and all. He did, however, enjoy reading and he and Raven would often be seen reading thick books together. He had brought along a few of his own that he'd stored in a sub-space pocket dimension for his own access. The enchantress had seen the titles and was surprised. They were pretty rare and Shadow had just shrugged. He also enjoyed sparring with Robin, even though his face would never show it. He did have to hold back though so the Boy Wonder wouldn't end up as a mere bloody splatter on the wall.

And then his thought went over to his adorable little fledgling. Her tanned orange skin, her fiery red hair and his eyes that shone brightly like precious emeralds…she was beautiful, as beautiful as his beloved Mistress.

He had already fed the previous night and wasn't really hungry. Starfire had also fed but was still hesitant to feed on other human beings. Therefore, she still drank from Shadow and to her his blood tasted like the richest wines. He allowed her to drink from him, to drink in his life-force, but sooner or later she'd have to still get over her fears and feed on humans for sustenance. "That's how it has to be," the vampire told the alien princess.

He then decided to finally say something that disrupted the usual flow of a Teen Titans breakfast, "I'm taking Starfire to the dentist later." Everyone stared at him strangely. He knew it was awkwardly random but it was just something that needed to be done. Starfire had been a vampire for a week so now she had to start her periodical fang check up. Thankfully, dentists were fully aware of the existence of vampires. He just never explained it to the Titans.

"… The dentist?" Raven cocked her eyebrows cynically.

"Yes, the dentist." Shadow nodded nonchalantly, as if it wasn't anything new.

"You're taking Starfire to see a dentist?" Robin's eyes widened at the absolute random insanity of Shadow's announcement.

"I know it sounds oddly ridiculous but, yes, I am."

Beast Boy and Cyborg on the other hand traded amused glances and snickered uncontrollably.

"Um…why a dentist, Master?" Starfire questioned.

Shadow sighed and was going to explain something that would've sounded completely ludicrous but it had to be done. He felt he could trust the Titans even if they didn't trust him all that much. He began, "Ever since the beginning, dentists have played an important role in the vampire society. In fact, dentists are a small gaggle of humans that actually do know of our existence." He saw everyone looking at him in disbelief but he paid them no mind as he continued his explanation, "Dentists are the individuals that will check a vampire's teeth and treat them. How else do you expect us to have white and clean fangs?" He pulled his lips to expose his pearly white fangs to prove his point. "This doesn't come by its own, you know. Now, there's a dentist in the city so I'll be calling him to make an appointment. My fledgling should've had her appointment days ago but you all have been quite busy. But, this can no longer be put off and she needs to get her check up to see if her fangs will be healthy." He then left the room and went to the phone to make a call to the dentist. The Titans couldn't help but find that this was the most ludicrous and unbelievable bit of information that they've ever heard.

Beast Boy, with a mischievous smile etched across his lips, went over to Starfire and stood in front of her with a bold composure. His expression turned solemnly grim and serious as he tiptoed to her height and whispered in a gravely warning voice,

"Starfire, do not go to the dentist,"

"Why not, friend?" Starfire inquired, "Master said it was important."

"Well," Beast Boy began, "The dentist will want you to open your mouth and then he'll begin picking and prodding at it with these metal tools." Starfire gasped and he continued, "Then, he'll take a drill and drill into your molars." She gasped again more dramatically and shocked, "Then he'll take a needle and (SMACK!) Hey!" Beast Boy held his head as the pain echoed through his head, "Raven!"

"Don't listen to the idiot, Starfire," Raven said nearly exasperatedly. She'd heard enough, and thus, needed to put a stop to it.

"But, what if-" Starfire said fearfully.

"Since when has Beast Boy been serious about this stuff? When was the last time he's been to a dentist anyway?" Raven monotonously pointed out.

"You know, she's right," Cyborg said, rubbing his chin considerably, "When was the last time you got a check up?" Cyborg shot Beast Boy a questioning, yet evilly grinning look. Beast Boy knew that look, oh he knew it too well…

"No way, no how! I'm not going to the dentist!" Beast Boy objected.

"You know you should, Beast Boy," Robin said joining in. "It may not be so bad."

"And I might start eating meat, but you don't see that happening anytime soon!"

"Alright, it's done," Shadow announced casually as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Yo, Shadow, you got room for one more?" Cyborg grinned at the vampire.

"Why?" Shadow asked with an eyebrow quirked.

"BB needs a check up too!"

"No I don't!" Beast Boy snapped, "And you can't make me!"

Shadow gave all the Titans a deadpan look and then went to make another call.

Well…looks like someone else will be tagging along to the dentist.

* * *

"I hate you guys… I really do." Beast Boy coldly muttered as the three walked in the city streets. BB had his hands in his pockets.

Shadow was once again dressed in his black Alucard-esque attire. He gave Beast Boy a questioning look, "You can face monsters, psychopathic and super powered villains and robots, but you're afraid to go to the dentist?" It just didn't make sense to Shadow, after all, to him there was little to be afraid of, especially if you were a centuries old vampire.

"Dude, I know it's just that…" BB looked flustered and shamefully embarrassed at admitting this, but, "I just… had a bad childhood experience."

Starfire cocked her head in confusion at her green friend, who simply looked down shamefully to avoid eye contact. "Was it really horrible, Friend Beast Boy?"

Seeing as how Beast Boy didn't want to answer, Shadow sighed and said to his fledgling, "If he doesn't want to talk about, then respect his decision."

Starfire gave a small nod and there was no more talking among the trio.

They soon arrived in front of a building. It was the clinic where Starfire, and hopefully Beast Boy, would be getting their check ups. None of the three noticed someone watching them from a window behind the blinds that were closed. His shadow slowly moved away from view…

The trio entered the building and were greeted by a lovely brunette nurse who told them to wait in the waiting room. Beast Boy sat down and fidgeted nervously while Starfire was unsure of what to expect, merely cocking her head in wonder. The walls were white and had charts and diagrams related to dental health. There was also a display case filled with false teeth models as well as a rack filled with pamphlets and magazines.

"Can you please stop fidgeting?" Shadow shot the green changeling an annoyed glance.

"Dude, I can't help it," Beast Boy said nervously as beads of sweat poured heavily from his forehead, "I mean; I never got over going to the dentist!"

"You have to get over it sometime, Beast Boy," Shadow said with a sigh and crossing his arms. The same nurse from before came out of the dentist's office.

"The doctor will see you now," she looked at the clipboard, "Miss Starfire, please."

"Here!" Starfire stood up and so did Shadow. However, the nurse told him not to.

"Why?" Shadow questioned.

"Doctor's orders. He doesn't want any distractions," the nurse explained. Shadow narrowed his eyes suspiciously but then Starfire took his hands and gave a gentle and reassuring squeeze.

"I shall be fine, Master," Starfire smiled reassuringly. Shadow nodded and sat back down. Starfire followed the nurse into the dentist's office.

"What a brave soul…" Beast Boy remarked dramatically, the vampire next to him could only roll his eyes.

As Starfire walked into the office, the first thing she noticed was a somewhat medium tall man wearing the usual dentist outfit. His back was facing her as he tinkered with several tools.

"Um, excuse me," Starfire said timidly, and took a few steps closer towards the dentist, "But, are you the 'dentist'?"

"Why, yes, I am. You must be my new patient." The "dentist" turned around to face the red haired vampire and instantly looking into his cold grey eyes sent shivers down her spine. Instinctively, she took a step back as unexpected fear made the hair on her body stand up in shock. She felt the coldness of fright crawl its way all over her body as the dentist took small steps towards her with a sinister smile. But quickly, her fear melted away into courage and her warrior's ferocity, as quickly evident by the anger illuminating in her emerald eyes.

"What do you want with me?!" Starfire demanded as the dentist reached down into his pocket to get something out, and his smile never left his maddened face.

"To smell the garlic, vampire." With superhuman reflexes that Starfire had only witnessed in humans like Slade, she couldn't even see how fast it took for the dentist to take the object from his pocket and place it right under her nose.

"Wait, what are you- huh?" Instantly her warrior nature dissipated as a strange aroma made its way into her nostrils and entranced her with its powerful, strong alien smell. Her mind began to slowly feel heavier and heavier by the second, disabling her eyesight into a blurry dazed state as every muscle in her being felt fatigue and weak; dead weights in need of discarding.

Starfire's right eye looked down to see what was causing her drugged state… and her eyes widened and she gasped nearly incredulously. It was simply a ring of garlic, held together by a makeshift string. For a moment, Starfire mentally noted that if Raven were in her position, she would laugh cynically at the thought of how the simple smell of garlic could knock you out with just one whiff.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: Well, looks like the dentist isn't all he seems to be. What will happen? Will Shadow save her? Will Beast Boy get over his fears? Well, u gotta wait for the next chap then.

Phantom Soldier: What ZK said, sorry if this chapter seems so short. We got hit with writer's block. But let us assure you we are NOT abandoning this story!


	5. Chapter 5

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Disclaimer:

**We don't own Teen Titans, if we did, it'd still be on. **

_**Night 5: Blood Vengence**_

Shadow sat in the waiting room patiently as Beast Boy sat next to him, fidgeting anxiously every so often. He rolled his eyes; the green boy was seriously annoying. The more animal part of his mind kept telling him to smack the changeling senseless. But the vampire just ignored him (and his urge) and looked to the door of the dentist's office concernedly. He then looked around and noticed something strange…They were the only ones here. Not another soul in sight.

Shadow closed his eyes and listened intently to the dentist's office to hear if he was getting to work. He then opened his eyes, narrowed in suspicion. There was no sound coming from it indicating if the dentist was working. Starfire wasn't even making a sound either.

A deep sense of worry came over him. Something wasn't right, and if Shadow learned anything in the past few centuries it was _always_ trust your instincts. Before Beast Boy knew it, Shadow was marching towards the door.

"I'm sorry but the doctor-" she began and froze as Shadow gave her the coldest glare she'd ever seen. Her blood ran cold as she stared at his red and black eyes. They were the eyes of the Devil…

"Stand aside," he commanded firmly and she did as told. Beast Boy then stood up and walked over to see what was going on.

"Hey, dude. What's going on?" Beast Boy asked.

"Something isn't right," Shadow said as he reached for the knob and turned. It was locked. The vampire then clasped an iron hand on the changeling's shoulder, and of course ignored the sharp yelp that flew out of the boy's throat.

"Hey, what are you-?" Beast Boy began but then felt a tingly feeling coming over his body as black energy surrounded both him and Shadow. The two of them then just phased through the door and into the room.

They then looked surprised, well Beast Boy did anyway, when they saw Starfire chained to the chair wearing a necklace of garlic around her neck. Shadow shielded his nose as he walked over and tore off the necklace. Garlic had a strong smell that irritated vampires, so there was no doubt it had knocked the poor girl out. He eyed the chains. Silver. But who?

"VAMPIRE! PREPARE TO DIE!!"

Question asked, question answered.

It seemed time had went into slow motion. Shadow could see how the slow horizontal slice of a long silver knife literally cut the tension in the air. He didn't focus on the owner of the weapon but on the threat at hand. The moment the knife would have embedded itself in the vampire's neck, Shadow grabbed the man's wrist and using the momentum he threw the assassin across the room. A medical cabinet smashed into hundreds of pieces when the Vampire Hunter smashed into it. The man slumped to the floor like a wasted drunk. He looked so daze he probably couldn't tell which way was up or down.

"The hell was that?" Beast Boy stared at the Vampire Hunter incredulously.

"A Vampire Hunter, obviously." Shadow eyed the fallen figure cautiously. His clenched his fists tightly as every muscle in his body screamed with the primal lust for combat. "Beast Boy."

"Yeah?" The green boy froze at the vampire's monotonous command. The very sound of it sent shivers up his spine.

"Break the chains and get her out of here. I'll take care of this."

With a mental breath of relief, Beast Boy gave Shadow the thumb's up gesture and grinned, "You got it, dude!"

"You… aren't going anywhere." the Vampire Hunter growled. Shakily, he got back to his feet. Panting like an old man on his deathbed but glaring with the eyes of ferocious animal, his resolution was strong and bold. Shadow could tell that this was a man who didn't have the word "surrender" in his vocabulary. He felt an odd mix of respect and animosity towards the Hunter. After all, the bastard used his innocent fledgling as bait.

And he wasn't going to let that slip. No way and not a snowball's chance in Hell.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked calmly. His tone was perfectly leveled and commanding. To most people who would've heard it, they might have surrendered to his voice. But to a man like this, the vampire studied, there was a big chance he wouldn't reply and just go on the attack again. Then again, there was the chance that he would dramatically give off a long and boring monologue about his name and his origins.

Vampire Hunters with **big** egos often did that. Unfortunately, it wasn't as Shadow had hoped. Instead, the Hunter simply opened his coat and pulled out two long silver knives.

"Hmm, a knife-user. Haven't encountered someone like you in ages," Shadow mused.

With a maddened cry, the Hunter ran towards him with psychotic resolution. If this were a normal human, Shadow would have won in 3 seconds flat. But something was off.

The fact that the man moved with inhuman speed was pretty much the reason. Shadow's eyes widened incredulously as he barely dodged the swipes. He could feel the silver just grazing off his cheeks. Shadow attempted a high kick but his attacker jumped back with ease, despite his madness.

"You're fast for a human." Shadow said respectively. With his own burst of speed, he threw quick punches at the Hunter. The man parried them expertly and retaliated with a swift slash across the vampire's forearm.

Silver and vampires didn't mix. A fact Shadow knew all too well. He stepped back to dodge another swipe and kicked the man in the chest with all the strength his leg could muster. The man smashed against the sink and dropped one of his knives in the fall. The vampire clasped his forearm and panted painfully. The silver burned like fire from Hell as the pain rippled intensively throughout Shadow's pale arm. Imagine what would happen if it struck him anywhere else?

Shadow looked over his shoulder to see Beast Boy had assumed the form of a gorilla. The green primate was clutching at the chains, trying to pull them apart but to no avail. Solid silver was quite strong but it still had to have its limits. Shadow turned his attention back to the Hunter. He had to keep this guy busy so that Beast Boy and Starfire could escape. He hissed as the pain in his arm continued. Silver on contact would weaken a vampire and prolonged exposure could burn them. He looked over at Starfire to see it wasn't the case. Good. Maybe her alien physiology once again made her immune to the adverse effects of silver, at least the burning part. The silver would still probably weaken her.

A knife flew in the air and Shadow ducked before it hit him between the eyes. The knife flew past Beast Boy's head and imbedded itself in the wall. Beast Boy's terrified eyes widened. That had been close! Holy shit!

Frowning, Shadow clenched his fists and then allowed the shadows to travel into them. The shadow energy pulsated around his hands as he got ready to engage the Hunter again.

He remembered Starfire's words. He shouldn't kill…He heard the beeping from Beast Boy's communicator. Good, he had called the Titans.

But, Shadow would need no backup handling this.

He harnessed the energy in his hand like a Duracell battery and then pulled his arm back before throwing his arm, hurling the ball of crackling shadow energy at the Hunter. The Hunter, in turn, threw a pair of his silver knives at the flying shadow ball. Both weapons collided on impact, and before either knew it, there was a brief blinding light as the positive effects of the silver met the negative effects of the dark ball. Curious, but unfortunately, Shadow would have to think on this peculiar consequence after.

During the great flash of light, the Hunter pulled out another knife and threw it as a fast as a flash of lightning. The vampire's eyes widened as he attempted a dodge. The silver blade was heading right for his head… he leaned backwards just as the knife would have connected with his eye. Unfortunately, a groan of unexpected pain escaped from the vampire's throat as an agonizing shimmer sliced up his cheek and forehead.

The vampire dropped to the floor on his back with a great THUD. Silver against vampire skin was a horrible combination. When silver touched vampire skin, the flesh and blood would literally boil as though under a great heat, thus causing terrible pain to any sorry blood-drinker who touched even a silver utensil! In this case though, the entire right side of Shadow's face felt like it was going to melt in agonizing heat.

His attacker would not give him the time to get up; mercilessly he stomped on Shadow's chest as hard as he could. He continued doing do, stomping on the Vampire's chest again and again, ignoring his small groans of pain. Blood leaked out of the cut from his face, and his eyes widened in absolute spite. He growled like an animal at the Hunter, who simply smirked arrogantly and grinned manically. The Hunter then removed another knife from his coat. Just how many did this guy have.

"Now…you filthy vampire…you die now," the Hunter said before he gripped the knife, ready to plunge it into Shadow's heart. However, his plan was soon derailed when a blue sonic energy beam slammed hard into his chest and sent him flying, crashing through the window and shattering the glass. Shadow blinked but then heard someone shouting out, "Booyah! Right on the mark." He then felt someone helping him to his feet. The bright colors of the person's clothes were a tell-tale sign of who it was.

"Robin?" Shadow asked.

"Easy there, Shadow," Robin told him, wincing as he saw the wound on the vampire's face.

"So, you came," Shadow noted.

"Beast Boy called us, said it was an emergency," Robin said before narrowing his eyes at the window. "And looks like he was right."

As Shadow got back to his feet, he cast Robin a glare, "I didn't need any help."

"It looks like you did, Shadow," Robin said. Shadow looked away and headed for the window. He looked down to see if the Hunter was there and hissed. He expected to see the Hunter lying in a pile of glass and in a pool of his own blood, but the Hunter was nowhere insight. Shadow's red eyes narrowed and glowed for a second. He wanted to make the Hunter pay for endangering his fledgling…

"Master?"

Hearing Starfire's soft voice caused the vampire to calm down. Putting on a neutral face, he turned to face Starfire. She had awoken and was being checked on by Raven. He took staggering steps towards her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her and her hand was raised to touch his cheek.

"You are…injured," she said.

"It will heal," he told her, "But what about you?"

"I am unharmed, Master. The person merely put me in a state of unconsciousness and tied me up. I believe…I wasn't his priority."

"Who was that guy anyway?' Cyborg asked.

Shadow replied, "With the existence of vampires, there are vampire hunters. Humans who believe that my kind are an abomination and should not be allowed to live. There are narrow-minded bigots who feel that killing vampires is just, even innocent ones. To them, in their eyes, ALL vampires should be eliminated."

"So, he's going to come back for you?" Raven asked. Shadow nodded.

"Exactly, which means that as long as I stay here, you all will be in danger as well," Shadow said.

"Hey, we're the Titans. We can handle it!" Beast Boy said boastfully.

"Hmm," Shadow frowned. "While I'm not surprised that you are capable of defending yourselves, the Hunters rely on subterfuge and trickery. Like the one who attacked me did. You'd be surprised at how low one would go to kill my kind."

Starfire approached her master with a look of worry on her face. He had been injured for protecting and she felt great guilt. "Master…shall I assist back to the Tower?" she asked.

Shadow looked towards his fledgling, her emerald eyes pleading for him to say yes. However, he had something to do. With one hunter around, things weren't going to be easy for them. He had to remind himself to keep his emotions locked away and not to give into his fledgling's pleas, no matter how justified they were.

"No," Shadow said. "But thank you, fledgling. I will be with you all shortly. In the meantime, return home with your friends."

"But-" Starfire started to protest but the look she got from him made it know to her that he didn't want to hear her argue. "I understand, Master," she bowed her head. He placed a hand to her shoulder and gave a firm squeeze. It was his version of a hug. He then turned away and seemed to vanish, which he did.

* * *

The vampire hunter leaned against the wall, pulling out the glass shards from his bleeding body. He had no expected the Titans, this city's 'heroes' to interfere but maybe that was because he never expected for them to even care for these vile things…these vampires…

If that was the case, then the Titans were now enemies for consorting with vampires. The hunter didn't want to do it, but if they were willing to consort with a vampire, then they would have to face the consequences.

The hunter gripped one of his knives. That vampire would pay…and pay it shall…with blood.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Night 6: The Discrete Blade_**

A figure stood outside Titans Tower. The figure could only be described as being impossibly beautiful. His skin was very pale and seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. His facial features were perfect and angular - high cheekbones, strong jaw line, a straight nose, and beautiful, full lips. His hair, which looked to be in casual disarray, was a deep blue color. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses. He was dressed in a navy blue tuxedo and a light blue dress shirt, and also wore a crucifix around his neck. He stood at 6'2", and had a slender but muscular build. "Well, well, well…" said the figure. "So this is where Shadow has been all this time?" He looked the tower up and down. "Can't say I blame him, it is quite beautiful. And speaking of beauty…" The man looked up and saw a pair of shapely legs dangling over the edge of the tower.

* * *

Starfire had found herself spending a lot of time on the Tower's roof lately. She would come up here to think and clear her mind. The night air always helped with that. "Well now, you are quite an exquisite creature of the night," said a voice. Starfire looked down and saw the figure standing on the side of the Tower, looking up at her.

"Eep!" squeaked Starfire in shock as she scooted backward. The man merely walked up onto the roof of the Tower. He looked at the moon.

"It's lovely tonight is it not? It's the kind of night that makes me want to have a drink…" said the man. Starfire blushed at the man's voice.

"What's going on up here?" asked Shadow as he and Robin appeared in the roof. The figure looked at Shadow and smiled.

"Shadow! My good friend. It has been far too long," said the man with a large smile.

"Ren…" said Shadow in a cold voice. "Why are you here?"

"What? I can't stop by to see and old friend and meet his fledgling?" He turned to look at Starfire. "And what a lovely fledgling she is. Tell me, are you two…lovers?"

Starfire blushed at the insinuation. "We are not lovers," answered Shadow. Starfire was surprised to find herself frowning at this.

"Then in that case…" He turned back to Starfire. "Would you like to accompany me on a night on the town, my lovely little fledgling?" Starfire once again found herself blushing while Robin bristled, but Shadow answered for her.

"No, Starfire is not another toy for you to play with so leave her alone. She is mine and mine alone," warned Shadow with an icy glare. "And how did you know I have a fledgling?"

"Well, since she's seen with you and she smells like us I can only assume she is…" said Ren.

"Master," Starfire spoke up. "You know this gentleman?"

"He's an old…acquaintance of mine that I had the unfortunate luck of meeting, Starfire," Shadow said.

"Aw, it couldn't have been that bad," said Ren with a grin. Shadow's stoic face curled into a look of annoyance.

"Who are you?" asked Robin.

"You may call me the 'Discrete Blade'," Ren said. "And you do know my name from the 'Shadow Dancer', right?"

"Shadow Dancer?" echoed Robin.

"My title," Shadow explained. "Vampires once they display a unique ability are given titles. I call myself Shadow because of this since I abandoned my mortal name. Nearly all vampires discard their former human names but there are some exceptions who like to keep theirs." He locked eyes with Ren. "Now, Ren, why are you here and don't lie to me. I can tell when you're lying."

"Now, why would I lie to you? I became bored with my old life in London after that whole Highgate fiasco back in the 70's and decided to start over here in America. I've been living in New York until I saw your face appear in the newspapers. I decided to drop by and have a little fun. But before I hit the town I thought that it would be rude to not stop by and greet my old friend," answered Ren.

Shadow sighed as much as he hated to deny it Ren was a friend…an annoying friend. They'd been through a lot together and bumped into each other randomly. They, of course, contrasted each other in a lot of ways.

"Alright, I'll buy that, so what are you planning to do here aside from visiting me, Discrete Blade?"

"I hear that there is a wonderful party in town tonight. Would you and your fledgling like to accompany me?"

"You know I'm not the partying type, especially after last time…" said Shadow, a cold stare held on Ren.

"How was I supposed to know she was the Czar's daughter?" shrugged Ren.

"Oh, please Master! It would be most enjoyable!" said Starfire excitedly.

"I'm not sure…" said Shadow. He then looked at Starfire who was giving him her puppy dog pout. "If you promise to stop doing that…fine."

"Glorious!" exclaimed Starfire happily who hugged Shadow.

"I knew you'd get a girl all over you, Shadow," chuckled Ren and Shadow gave him a silent glare while trying to remove Starfire's grip from him.

* * *

Ren was invited into the Tower and upon meeting Raven he kissed her hand. Shadow rolled his eyes at seeing his friend flirt. Cyborg and Beast Boy were also present.

"So, he's a vampire too?" Cyborg asked Shadow.

"He is," Shadow replied. "Ren Cullen, also known as the Silent Blade of Discretion, or the Discrete Blade."

"And you're the Shadow Dancer," Beast Boy added. "That is a girly title." Beast Boy chuckled but then his shadow turned into a monster which swallowed him up and spat him out into the wall.

"My full title is 'The One Whom Dances with the Shadows'," explained Shadow. "Shadow Dancer is just an abbreviated version."

"And he's here for a friendly visit, huh?" Cyborg asked.

"He somehow knows how and where to find me," replied Shadow, "Even when I don't want him to. He's a womanizer and he uses it to charm women to bed before he feeds on them. He never kills as far as I know."

"But he's called the Discrete Blade for a reason," Robin commented. "Why?"

Shadow shrugged. "It's not my story to tell even if I know."

"And how did you two meet?" Robin asked.

"It was in Russia before the Russian Revolution," Shadow answered. "I met Ren at a ball celebrating the Czar's youngest daughter's birthday. He knew I was a vampire. I was there on…business."

Robin narrowed his eyes and continued to watch as Ren bragged about his exploits to Starfire who was awed. Shadow never told her anything about his past so this was a refreshing change.

"Master!" Starfire jumped towards Shadow.

"Yes, fledgling?" he asked.

"I think I may have a dress for tonight but I am not sure. Would you please give me your opinion?"

Shadow blinked and shrugged. "Alright, but could you please let me go?" Starfire was hugging him again. He wasn't used to public displays of affection like this and Ren snickered.

"Don't take too long, lovebirds," Ren called to them as they exited the room. He eyed Raven who was sitting in the kitchen reading a book. "Would you like to go too? Proper etiquette does compel me to invite the friends of my friend. Especially ones as lovely as you."

"Cute" said Raven in her dry tone, "But I have no intention of being with you."

"Oh, I know," said Ren, surprising Raven a bit. "A lovely creature such as yourself is not for a one night escapade through ecstasy. No, for someone like you, the joy comes from the hunt. But, my invitation still stands. So, I believe you have some questions for me?"

"Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Robin, getting straight to the point.

"Not through feeding. Even as a fledgling, my Mistress always had me by her side and taught me the proper ways. The only ones I have killed are hunters that threaten me, my Mistress or my lovers. I only feed on my lovers, but not enough to kill or change them. Only enough to reenergize myself and give my companion as much pleasure as possible."

"Why do they call you the Discrete Blade?" asked Cyborg.

Ren flicked his wrist and a knife flew into his hand out of his jacket. In the blink of an eye he was twirling it on his finger, the R badge from Robin's uniform dangling from his fingers. Ren licked the blade before it vanished back into the confines of his suit. "I believe this is yours?" said Ren as he handed Robin back his badge.

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked bug-eyed at this. They didn't even see him move.

"So," began Ren. "Who would like to join me tonight?"

* * *

Shadow was in Starfire's room and well…he was fidgeting. Pink wasn't a color appropriate for a vampire and Starfire's room was a mixture of pink and purple. It hurt his eyes. Silkie was on his lap and as disgusted as he was towards the small creature, he'd grown fond of it in a strange way. Shadow looked towards the changing partition where his fledgling was changing her clothes. He could make out her silhouette and he was forced to look away. She was very curvy and physically attractive.

The vampire shut his eyes. He shouldn't be thinking such things of his fledgling but still…he wondered about Ren's words. Lovers? Did they really look like that? They were teacher and student and nothing more but Shadow, despite not showing any emotion on his face, was clearly fond and held strong feelings for her, feelings that were not unlike the ones he had for his mistress.

"Done!" Starfire announced, ceasing Shadow's thoughts. When she walked out from the partition his eyes widened at this vision of loveliness.

The dress she wore went down past her knees with a slit up the left side of the skirt and was held up by thin spaghetti straps. She wore a silver necklace around her neck and pearl earrings hung from her ears. She even wore bracelets. She didn't have any makeup which was unnecessary since she was already beautiful to begin with. She was wearing white high heels and had a purse slung over her shoulders.

He could barely recognize her.

"How do I look?" she asked. He was silent. "Master?"

What could he say at a time like this? Be honest. "You look…words do not do you justice…" She was beyond beautiful to him and he cursed his thoughts. He was her teacher! Nothing more.

She flew towards him and kissed his cheek, an action that startled him but he didn't recoil in disgust. "Thank you!" she thanked her master.

The door slid open and Ren was leaning against the doorframe. "So, are you both ready?" He eyed Starfire appreciatively. "Well, what do we have here? Who is this beautiful creature?"

Shadow felt something rising in him. Anger, perhaps? He wasn't an emotional vampire but the image of Ren and Starfire…it made him want to kill the Silent Blade of Discretion. He calmed himself down and stood up from the bed, placing Silkie on the sheets. "So, did you invite the other Titans?"

"Well, it wouldn't be fair and I even convinced that beautiful little bird to come with me," smirked Ren.

It amazed Shadow on how Ren could be so carefree about these things. Focusing his power as his title was The One Whom Dances with the Shadows he changed his clothes to be more appropriate for this party. Ren smiled.

"You look as handsome as ever, my friend," smirked Ren.

Shadow frowned and he felt Starfire loop her arm around his. He wasn't uncomfortable but contact like this felt alien to him.

"Our carriage awaits," declared Ren as he stepped from the doorway. "Let us go."

* * *

Name: Ren Cullen (created by Shadow Element 13)

Race: Vampire

Ren Cullen is a vampire who enjoys in exploiting the "sexy creature of the night" image that vampires have acquired over the centuries. Whenever he changes names, he takes the name of one of the most popular vampires at the time, currently taking Cullen from the character Edward Cullen from the _Twilight_ book series, though he absolutely despises the series. Ren is an old "friend" of Shadow's. Ren is nearly 150 years old, having been born somewhere in Eastern Europe, though he claims to not know exactly where anymore. Ren is also an expert knife-user. He is also considered to be extremely fast, even by vampire standards. The combination of his speed and prowess with a knife renders his attacks almost invisible to the naked eye. Ren is normally calm and easy-going, easily capable of hiding his true vampiric nature. He enjoys flirting. Ren has also traveled all over the world. He claims his favorite place in the world was Japan, because the Love Hotels were very convenient. However, when someone he cares for is threatened, he shows that he's a vampire equal to Shadow in power, and quite possibly even more vicious.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Dances with Shadows

Several Hours Previously…

"Well…" a cultured voice stated, with a slight snarl reverberating from his throat.

"Sir, we have found your brother's killer. It was 'The One Whom Dances with the Shadows'," a figure reported, bowing its head.

"Shadow… should've known a bleeding heart of a fool like him would do it, especially if he caught my brother turning someone into a stray," the one with the cultured voice stated with a scoff in his tone. "Do you know where he is?"

"That's the odd thing…" the servant said slowly "Apparently, for some reason, he is working for a superhero team called the Teen Titans, in Jump City, California."

"What?" the culture voice said in disbelief.

"I said…"

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID!" the man roared as the servant flinched.

"A superhero team…I'm surprised the council hasn't tried to kill him themselves," the man murmured. Being a superhero would bring WAY too much attention to oneself and far too many questions as to how he gained those powers. The ones who did do something that could expose the existence of vampires usually faced the council, and it never ended well for the guilty party. So why was Shadow still alive if he was in a position like that? It didn't make any sense.

"Unless… they know something the rest of the community doesn't know about," the voice mused to himself. The man thought it over for a few minutes before ultimately dismissing it. Whatever it was, it could wait until his brother killer was dealt with. Picking up a telephone he began dialing.

"Master who are you calling?" The servant asked curiously.

"Some old acquaintances of mine. I remember one of them mentioning that they were heading to Jump City on business," the man said as he waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Hello, Is this Creighton? It's me, Apparition. Listen, I have a job for you."

* * *

The party Ren was referring to was a pretty high-class one where the rich people of Jump City went to in order to mingle. Celebrities and business executives who made a lot of money were all in attendance. Heirs and heiresses of great fortunes were also there.

It was being held in a ballroom in one of Jump City's 5-Star hotels which was located in the rich part of time.

Shadow wasn't a fan of parties or crowds. He always did his best to avoid both unless it was important. To him, such frivolities were trivial. Just people showing off their wealth and status and with their noses in the air.

Ren had a way of getting into places like this, only in order to seduce the female guests so he could have them for bed and a meal. Shadow didn't really approve but there was little he could do to persuade his friend to behave otherwise. Shadow wasn't the type to interfere with someone else's life. This was Ren's choice and Shadow tolerated it at best, except when it got them into trouble. Shadow was always guilty by association with Ren whenever Ren did something that landed himself in trouble.

The limo Ren had rented stopped in front of the hotel. Again with his skills Ren managed to get them in. Raven was in a deep violet sleeveless dress that hugged her figure. It stopped down to her ankles. Starfire convinced her to get it but she never worn one before. The boys of the Titans were dressed in tuxedos. Cyborg and Beast Boy wore special rings that emitted a holographic disguise over themselves that made them look normal. Robin switched his mask for sunglasses to hide his eyes.

"I'm going to hit the buffet table," said Cyborg.

"Just don't cause a ruckus," warned Shadow, who was also dressed in a tuxedo. He tugged slightly in the collar. Another thing he hated was stuffy clothing such as this. He was just good as hiding the discomfort on his face. He was far too good at hiding his emotions.

"I'd rather hit the dance floor," said Ren. "How about you, Raven? Shall we dance?"

She gave him a deadpan stare and said, "No."

Ren chuckled, always enjoying a challenge. By the end of the night, they'd have their dance.

The lights of the chandelier hurt Shadow's eyes. He really hated these gatherings. They were simply pointless with no actual function. He only attended when necessary. He glanced around and he identified that some of the guests were vampires, vampires who'd gained fortune over the centuries and made names for themselves in the human world. They were not his business, unless they violated vampire laws which could lead to their exposure.

"So, not enjoying the scene?" Ren asked, with a glass of champagne in his hand.

"You know you can't taste it, right?" Shadow asked. Vampires as old as they were could only taste the flavor of blood. Mortal food and drink didn't hold any flavor for them or satisfy them.

"Maybe so, but I like how it feels when it slides down my throat," Ren smirked as he took a sip. Ren smirked "By the way, I have two questions for you: the first one is about that scar..." Ren glanced at the scar on Shadow's cheek, something that should have healed far quicker for a vampire unless they were hit with silver. "How did you get that? I know from experience that most humans and metahumans shouldn't be able to lay a hand on you."

"If you must know, it was a vampire hunter. He was almost as skilled as you are with a knife."

"Oh?" Ren asked curiously. "And how was he able to get the drop on you?"

"I was taking my fledgling to see the dentist, to make sure her fangs were coming along fine," Shadow began to explain but was interrupted by Ren.

"Say no more. I think I got the picture," Ren said. He had heard story of how vampire hunters would try to use a similar tactic to attack unsuspecting vampires. "So what happened to this guy?"

"I don't know. He got away," Shadow said, frowning, and still remembering what that hunter had done to his fledgling.

"Interesting," Ren smirked. It looked as if there might be a chance for him to face a decent human in combat in this century. The vampire hunters of today just thought that having a gun with silver bullets would be enough to take down a vampire. Such amateurs.

"Your first question has been answered. What's your second?" Shadow asked

"Oh well, it's nothing major. I'm just curious. What it's like being a teacher to your new fledgling?" Ren asked. Shadow eyebrows furrowed. The question seemed innocent enough but not the way he'd asked it…

"Ren, why are you really here?" Shadow questioned.

Ren knew he couldn't lie to Shadow and admitted, "It's that fledgling of yours. The Council shows…concerns."

Shadow's frown deepened.

"They wish to meet with you and her. They sent me to collect you until they all gather in person. Then I'm to escort you to the assigned meeting place," Ren explained further. "Personally, I hate being their lackey, but I'm doing this as a favor to Mistress. I owe her this much at least."

Shadow replied, "Going against the council is the same as a death wish, but I understand. Your loyalty comes first. I'd do the same, but my fledgling has yet to truly earn her fangs."

"She sure is attractive though," nodded Ren. "If you don't want her as a lover, I'll take her." He smiled, assuring his friend that he was only joking.

Shadow's glare was so cold and dark that Ren felt chills running up from the tips of his toes to the top of his head and back again. "Don't. You. Dare."

Ren pretended to shiver, "Oh, so scary. Don't worry; I have my eyes on a different prize."

Shadow caught Ren's glance towards Raven who seemed bored. She was like Shadow, finding such gatherings pointless and boring. "Good luck," Shadow responded. "She's like me. You have a better chance of getting a tan than a dance with her."

Ren grinned at Shadow's joke and how he could tell it with a straight face. "We'll see about that, my dear friend."

"I know you. You just want to drink her blood."

Ren shook his head. "No, that's not it. I haven't felt this way about someone in well over 30 years. There's something...different about her."

Shadow then glanced towards Robin and Starfire who were dancing. She looked happy enough. It pained him. It was so unfair. A girl like her wasn't meant for the life of a vampire. It was a painful eternity that was forced upon her. He caught her glance towards him. He turned away.

Shadow glanced towards Robin and Starfire who were dancing. She looked happy enough but then she glanced towards him. He turned away.

She wanted to dance with him.

Shadow reorganized his thoughts. Starfire was his fledgling, his student, and he was her teacher and master. Nothing more and nothing less. He cared for her like a parent, that was all.

Ren, however, knew better. "Ah, young love…" sighed Ren as he took a sip from his glass."Too bad you have the romantic prowess of a rock."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" glared Shadow.

"Just because your "brother" took the name of the ancient God of Love, doesn't make him the expert. In matters of the heart, he's got another 100 years to catch up with me."

"I hate it when you talk like that."

"I'm improving; you used to just hate it when I talked." He finished his drink before setting the glass on the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I see a lovely little bird that I would love to dance with." Ren fixed his tie before making his way toward Raven.

Shadow picked up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. Sure, he could not taste it, but it at least served to divert his focus from Starfire and Robin. He then felt a tap on his arm and turned his eyes towards Beast Boy. "What?"

"I can't help from noticing-"

"None of your business," Shadow interrupted curtly.

"Dude, seriously, I know people think I'm not very bright, but I notice you looking at Star. You care about her."

"She's my fledgling and I am her master. Of course I care about her."

"I'm just saying, if you want to dance with her, go for it," Beast Boy encouraged. "Starfire really likes you."

Shadow glanced towards Robin and Starfire dancing silently. He'd fallen in love before, a long time ago, and it'd ended horribly. "I don't need sympathy."

"It isn't sympathy," Beast Boy countered. "What have you got to lose?"

Shadow didn't want to cut in between Robin and Starfire, but there was this odd urge to tell him he had to. He usually beat down these urges easily but with Starfire it was getting harder and harder to resist her. They spent most of their time together as teacher and student. This was one of the rare times those roles didn't apply to them.

Shadow murmured, "I can't believe I'm doing this," and strode towards Robin and Starfire.

Ren noticed what was happening and grinned. He was busy chatting Raven up and she just yawned, bored. "So my beautiful young lady, tell me about yourself."

"Not much to tell," replied Raven.

"Not the social type I see. Personally, I hate these kinds of parties, but they're a good way to make connections with the right people. It's not easy to support yourself for over 100 years."

Just as Shadow was about to reach Starfire and Robin, his path was blocked by a young blonde woman in a halter style dress with a skirt that reached down to her knees, but with high slits on either sides to expose her slender legs. Her lips were blood red and she had crystal blue eyes. Her hair was permed and she wore ruby earrings. She also wore gold bracelets.

"Why, hello, handsome," the young lady, appearing in her early twenties, flirted with him. "I haven't seen you here before."

"A friend invited me," he told her. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She grabbed his arm.

"Now, why would you want a child while you could have a woman?" She gave him a smile that revealed her teeth and what she was by her longer and sharper canines. Shadow's eyes narrowed. "My name's Angel. How about you?"

"Annoyed," he responded before coldly shrugging her off. He was about to walk towards Starfire when another hand grabbed his shoulder, a far more masculine one.

"It's quite rude to ignore a woman asking for a dance especially one who asks from one whose title is 'The One Whom Dances with the Shadows'," the man said He was wearing a thick black jacket, green pants and gray boots. His face was covered in darkness thanks to his hood.

"Oh, Creighton," Angel identified.

Shadow glared at the two. "And how do you know my title?"

Angel, instead of answering him, just smirked as her compatriot quickly raised his fist and punched Shadow so hard he was sent flying and would've crashed right into wall if it wasn't for Starfire catching him.

"Are you alright, Master?" Starfire asked concern as she set him down to the ground as the Titans and Ren gathered near the two. Every occupant in the room turned to look at the two, either in fear or in the Titans and Ren's case in anger. Most of the vampires in the room took it as an excuse to leave before it got ugly.

"Oh dear it appears that we've caught everyone's attention," Angel said, sighing, "You really should control your strength. The plan was to knock him out and drag him discreetly outside"

"Now Angel, you know how I dislike holding back," Creighton told him.

"Hey!" Robin snapped causing the two to look at him "Who are you, and what do you two want with Shadow!-?"

"Heh, if you must know, _human_, we are assassins and we were hired to kill Shadow for a great grievance he did to our client," Creighton said

"Grievance?" Robin frowned.

"Yes… if you want the full details, I suggest asking him and that stray." Angel smirked. She and Creighton heard Starfire say master, and they heard from Apparition how Shadow might have caught his brother creating a stray just for kicks and put two and two together. Both vampires dodges an attack of shadow chains that would have stabbed them brutally. They quickly saw Shadow walking towards them

"Don't call my fledgling that," Shadow hissed.

Angel just grinned, "Ooh, so scary. Let's see how brave you are against an army." Just as she said that pink smoke seem to emanate from her and quickly started covering the room.

Everyone that didn't have vampiric blood in them were clutching onto their heads in pain.

"Friends, are you okay?" Starfire asked concern, fearing it was some kind of poison. She shrieked, however, as Cyborg whirled at her and swatted her away.

Shadow whirled around and was about to help his fledgling when a desk suddenly hit him causing him to stumble as Raven threw a desk at him.

Ren frowned as he used his greater speed to dodge Robin and Beast Boy. He analyzed, "I see…so this fog is some kind of enhanced mind control technique."

"Correct. Feel honored that you have the chance to experience the power Angel of the Pheromones. While it doesn't work on vampire, it does wonders on humans," Angel boasted, still smiling.

"In that case, all we have to do to stop this is to kill you," Shadow said as he and Ren charged when Creighton intercepted them.

"Like I would let you," Creighton growled as he slammed them so hard into the ground they crashed through the floor and into the level below. Creighton quickly follow them down.

"Master!" Starfire shouted in concern as she was about to go down to assist him when suddenly the brainwashed people surrounded her. "Let me through, please!"

"I'm afraid your opponent is me, little stray," Angel said.

* * *

Both Shadow and Ren were slowly getting up from the ground of the lower level.

"Okay, I really need to know, what you and your fledgling did to piss these guys off. Did you do something similar to the Czar thing?" Ren asked

"No, but I can take a guess," Shadow frowned as Creighton landed before them. He spoke to Creighton, "Before we begin, I need to know about this 'grievance'. Was it because of a death of a vampire a couple of weeks ago?"

"Why yes it was. I'm surprised it took you such a long time to figure it out. Yes, I'm working for the brother of the vampire you killed in cold blood," Creighton answered.

"That man turned someone innocent against her will and was planning on letting her go feral," Shadow argued.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't give you an excuse to kill that guy, especially since his brother a good business associate of mine," Creighton retorted.

"Wait, so you're doing this to avenge that guy?" Ren asked.

"Not really. I find that guy to be a stupid dipshit who likes blood far too much and his brother shares the same sentiments. But his brother said that even if he was an idiot he was still family. Plus he's paying us quite a nice sum." Creighton said

"Unfortunately, I think I can understand the part about family loyalty," Shadow admitted while sighing as an image of his annoying Casanova of a brother popped up in his head.

"But enough talk! It's time to get back into the fight!" Creighton roared while rushing forward, raising both fist to punch Shadow and Ren. However, unlike the first time, Shadow and Ren dodged the attack. Shadow quickly created claws made of shadow and quickly tried for a decapitation blow which Creighton ducked. Ren pulled out a knife and began to rapidly slash on Creighton chest causing him to grunt, but it sounded more out of annoyance than pain. He slapped the knife out of Ren's hand before he quickly delivered a side kick that sent Ren flying to the side, not aware that Shadow had taken a step back. He let Ren distract Creighton as he prepared a special attack. He wanted to end this fight quickly so that he could go back up topside to help Starfire.

A fully-charged, skull-shaped energy ball of darkness burst from Shadow's hands with an air-bursting _boom_ and flew like a bullet towards Creighton. When it finally hit, there was an explosion that sent dust and debris everywhere.

When the smoke cleared both vampires eyes widened to see the man still standing. His clothing was shredded but that wasn't what shocked them. It was his physical appearance that was the cause for surprise. He was completely bald and had two blood-shot eyes with the whites of his eyes colored pure black. His feet seem to have metallic hooks for toes, and finally his mouth was full of sharp fangs, looking as if they were made of…

"Iron…" Shadow frowned.

"Great, he's a Sasabonsam," Ren muttered. Both knew it is very rare to see a vampire who developed metal-based abilities due to a vampire's natural weakness towards silver. However, when a vampire did develop these abilities they could be easily spotted by the simple fact that they seemed to develop teeth made of iron with other parts of the body becoming iron as well. Some considered becoming a Sasabonsam an honor because of the myth of Iron. Others considered it a curse since it was much harder to hide their bodies. But to those who had to fight one, they find the experience life-threatening since a Sasabonsam was physically the strongest of the vampire race.

Creighton grinned darkly as he rushed towards Ren, delivering a fist into his mouth. It connected with devastating impact as Ren was sent spiraling backwards and onto his backside. Creighton followed up by trying to send a kick into Shadow's chin, but Shadow was able to block it and grimaced as he felt the iron hooks digging deeply into his flesh, hurting his hands in the process.

Creighton snarled as he tried once more to kick Shadow, but Ren grabbed his foot and forced the Sasabonsam crashing to the ground. Shadow quickly helped Ren up as Creighton got up with bloodlust in his eyes.

"Looks like we better go all out with this guy, eh shadow?" Ren asked, spitting blood to the ground before pulling out two knives.

"Looks like it," Shadow agreed as he started to use the shadows for his advantage.

**Meanwhile, back topside…**

"I'm surprised that even a vampire as strange as you is still alive," Angel remarked asStarfire panted tiredly. It was bad enough that she had to fight to only knock out the civilians with restrained strength, but now she had to fight the rest of the Titans by herself. "But even with that vampire as your teacher, you are still a stray. Sooner or later you and your master will die. Maybe I could have fun with his body first before I have my Creighton kill him."

At hearing these words, Starfire glared angrily at her. "I won't lose to you! And my Master and friend Ren will not be defeated by this Creighton!"

"I'm afraid that's not up to you, sweetheart," Angel smirked. Looking at Beast Boy, she snapped her fingers and pointed at Starfire. He nodded as he changed into a triceratops and attempted to nail Starfire with his horns. Starfire however rolled to the side, making Beast Boy miss, and almost knock himself off balance. The brainwashed shape-shifter quickly corrected his momentum and redirected his tail in her path. Raven also acted by flying in the air and started levitating the furniture before sending them flying towards Starfire.

However, Starfire was ready for this. Quickly grabbing the tail, she swung Beast Boy and threw him. He easily demolished the furniture with his size before he hit Raven. Luckily, he demorphed at the last second and sent both of them crashing through the ceiling. Mentally apologizing to both her friends, she quickly dodged Cyborg's cannon blasts as he and Robin rushed forward. Starfire close her eyes and began easily blocking each of the two males' attacks, using the skills she'd learnt from her master to defend herself before she used her fist to violently punch Cyborg hard enough to definitely knock the air out of him and side sweep Robin to the floor and knocking him

Angel gulped "T-take her down!" she shouted. The brainwashed people charged forward only to be taken down by Starfire. _'What the hell? I was defeating her a moment ago! When did she get that good that fast?_' Angel thought as Starfire sent the last one crashing to the ground.

"There no one left for you to manipulate. Please surrender," Starfire said.

Angel glared at the Tamarenian. "There is no way I'm surrendering to a stinking stray!" She threw a fist towards Starfire's face only for Starfire to catch. She snarled darkly as she began to squeeze tightly. Angel face began to contort in pain as she kicked Starfire away. Clutching her right hand in pain, it felt as if all the bones in that hand were completely broken.

"You damn bitch!" Angel roared as she rushed Star only to scream in pain as emerald energy began slamming into her in rapid succession causing her to scream in pain.

"I am not a mere stray as you believe! I am a proud vampire AND a Tamaranean warrior!" Starfire declared and with a roar she flew at Angel.

* * *

Creighton's nostrils flared as he took a deep, shivering breath of air. Despite how strong he was physically, Shadow and Ren were slowly beginning to whittle away his skin causing small but actual damage.

Before he could once again go on the attack he stopped as he heard Angel began screaming in pain. Creighton frowned in annoyance, before jumping up quickly back to the party floor. Quickly spotting Starfire blasting at Angel, not giving her a chance to retaliate, he rushed at Starfire and kicked her violently away.

"Shit, what took you so long…?" Angel groaned as she moved away from the wall while clutching her hand painfully. Creighton frowned. He'd warned Angel that she'd been relying far too much on her pheromones and not on her other vampiric abilities. He also noticed that Ren and Shadow quickly getting back into the room and flanking Starfire.

"it appears that we must retreat at the moment," Creighton said. Before Angel could protest Creighton stated, "Listen, we may have failed this one, but next time we will get them."

Angel seemed to hesitate before nodding. Before the three good vampires could do anything. Creighton pulled out something from his still workable pants and threw them to the ground causing smoke to explode, completely covering the two. When it cleared, both Angel and Creighton were nowhere to be seen.

"They're gone," Starfire said.

"Heh, good riddance is what I say," Ren said.

Shadow ignored the two as he began walking forward and helped Cyborg backto his feet. "If you two are done talking about the enemy, I think we should help these people by taking them to the hospital," Shadow said, while he was annoyed that those two vampires had gotren away, he felt that both the Titans and the innocent victims of Angel's pheromones should be helped first.

"Yes Master!" Starfire nodded quickly as she flew up to check if Beast Boy and Raven were okay.

"Man, I hate to be the one to have to explain to these guys what happened," Ren muttered as he too began checking to see if people were okay.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location, a meeting was taking place.

"Good news. Ren has managed to make contact with Shadow and this strange fledgling safely according to my sources," a male said calmly to the two other occupants in the room.

"That is good to hear, Poison Carrion," the only woman in the room said.

"Bah, who cares about him? Any news on the other members of the council?" another man snapped.

"Well, Lady Soothsayer should be arriving in a few weeks. Still, no word on the other two, Lord of the Bloodshed," the first male said.

"What's taking them so long? They should know that we need to focus on this issue of that fledgling," the second man growled.

"Patience," the woman said calmly as the two turned to her. "You forget that while they are members of the council they do live in different parts of the world. They will come and when they do, we will handle this matter the right way."

"Well said, Lady Messiah," Poison Carrion said as Lord Bloodshed just muttered under his breath.

_'Shadow, I do hope you and your fledgling will be ready when the time comes_,' Lady Messiah thought to herself.

**Author's Notes:**

**The sasabonsam is a vampire-like folkloric being from West Africa. It belongs to the folklore of the Ashanti of southern Ghana, as well as Côte d'Ivoire and Togo. It is said to have iron teeth and iron hooks for feet and to live in trees, attacking from above**

**Iron play a role in mythology, for you see human blood smells of the iron of which it is largely constituted, and blood in many traditions is equated with the life-force, so iron and minerals have been considered to be the blood or life-force of the Earth**

**This was written with help from Warlord-Xana. Anyway, pls enjoy!**


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